If I Ever See You Again
by ReneyyySprouse
Summary: Some kids are lucky enough to escape a kidnapping alive. Others aren't so lucky. So which group will Zack fall into when he is snatched after a hurtful dispute with Cody? And how will Cody react while his wish to be without Zack looks to be coming true?
1. Shattered Desires

**Kay, so I'm probably a little crazy for starting another Z&C story, but I was getting a little over Operation Runaway (by the way, read that story of mine too, ok?). Anyway, Z&C stories are my fav to write, so this idea came to me. I've noticed alot lately at how many darker Suite Life stories there are out there, so I figured I'd give it a go too. Hopefully I don't screw it up too much. R&R!**

* * *

No matter how many times anyone stayed at the Tipton Hotel; no matter how many up and down journeys they made in one of the two identical elevators, nobody could ever pull themselves to get used to the annoying, monotonous elevator music that echoed throughout the tiny space with every trip. And after living in the hotel for almost four years now, the Martin twins were certainly no exception. As the mobile box landed in the lobby with a 'ding', the doors came to an eventual gape and revealed Zack and Cody, who then strode out and walked down the mini flight of stairs. Bouncing a brightly coloured orange basketball with every step he took, Zack made a sudden change in direction and headed towards his favourite place in the entire hotel; the candy counter.

"Hey sweet thang." He exclaimed, flashing a pearly white smile at Maddie Fitzpatrick, the Tipton's blonde haired, brown eyed candy girl. Maddie gazed up from the book that lay open in front of her and exchanged the smile. "Hey Zack, hey Cody. What are you guys up to today?"

"Nothing much." Cody replied. "We're just gonna head down to the park and - "

"I'm gonna kick his butt in basketball." Zack interjected with a sly grin, gesturing his head towards Cody as he spoke.

Cody rolled his eyes at Zack's comment. It was bad enough that his brother was always going to any lengths in a vying attempt to grasp hold of Maddie's attention, but the fact that he had now taken to insulting Cody along the way definitely wasn't any less annoying. "Speaking of kicking butt," Cody then continued, "what do you think the chances are of my grade beating your's by a whole four letters again on that test we're having tomorrow?"

The smug expression that Zack was wearing suddenly dropped at Cody's mention of his last (failing) grade. He felt his face glow a faint red colour of embarrassment as he subtly looked out of the corner of his eye at Maddie. Zack had always tried to pass himself for smart - moderately above average at the least whenever he was around her. Maybe then there'd more be of a chance of her falling for him.

"Great job, Cody!" Zack yelped in deep sarcasm. "You're nothing but a total super nerd! Feel big?"

"Bigger than you do with your usual D-." Cody sniped back. Zack groaned in aggravation and sighed, ready to open his mouth and shoot another slur at Cody, and undoubtedly would have, too, if Maddie hadn't decided to cut in.

"Guys!" She yelled, "All I asked was 'what are you up to today'. There's no need to get into an argument."

The twins prolonged their nasty glare at each other before Cody finally broke the fix that their glances had made. "Yeah, whatever. Cya later Maddie." Cody spun around where he stood and then began walking towards the front door of the hotel. Still feeling caught out in front of Maddie, Zack took a double take between Cody and the basketball that sat comfortably in his hands as an idea suddenly developed in his mind. _If he thought I felt embarrassed before, _he thought to himself, _then this ought to be good._

"Hey super nerd, think fast!"

Zack laughed in self pride as he watched the basketball fly from his arms and across the hotel lobby, headed straight towards the back of Cody's head. All of time and space seemed to stand still for Cody while he turned around, reacting to the sound of his name that had boomed from Zack. Cringing at the sight of the lively coloured ball soaring right towards him, Cody did the first thing that his instincts told him to and jumped out the way. He never was a fast thinker when it came to sports, especially ball sports, but during the moment where the ball finally did find an end to it's path, he sincerely wished that he did have more skill in that particular area.

Everybody that made up the contents of the Tipton lobby let out an eerily simultaneous gasp as Zack's ball slowly rolled out on the footpath outside of the hotel - after it had smashed through the glass remnants of the front door of course.

There was a hushed silence as the image of what happened replayed itself through both Zack and Cody's minds, though it always ended the same way; the shimmering glass lying on the floor, reflecting the way Zack was beginning to think about any chance he had of ever being allowed outside the confines of his room again. Shattered.

"Zackary Martin!"

Zack's train of thought was abruptly derailed at an eruption of sorts that had come from his mum. Carey stood at the entrance to the ballroom, seemingly off work earlier than it had originally been expected. How lucky for Zack.

"Ah crap."

----

"Playing sports in the lobby after Moesby and I have repeatedly told you not to is one thing!" Carey shouted from where she stood hunched over Zack's careless body sprawled across the couch in the living room. "But breaking through the glass in the door? And having the repair money come out of _my_ pay?!"

"I said I was sorry, Mum." Zack responded with a groan.

"But you don't mean it do you? No matter how many times you apologise, Zack, you always go back and do the same things!"

Zack sat in silence, his vision fixed on the television. Not that it was on, but he had heard this lecture a million times before. And just like his mother, he knew it like the back of his hand. The next thing coming was his punishment. What would it be this time; no T.V? No Xbox or dessert or music?

"Two weeks, Zack." Carey emitted as she rubbed her temples and sighed. "Straight home from school every afternoon. You will stay put in this suite and do all your homework and all of your chores. End of discussion."

Shooting his gaze up at Carey as she walked towards the bathroom, Zack's jaw dropped wide open. "No!" He cried, causing her to direct her attention back to him. "Discussion re-opened." Carey looked down at Zack as that input escaped his lips perhaps a little to smartly. "I can't come straight home tomorrow, I've got to stay at school for basketball tryouts!"

"Well you should've thought of that before you threw that basketball of yours across Mr. Moesby's lobby. My decision is final Zack."

"It wasn't all my fault though!" Zack continued, knowing full well that by now he was far out on a whim, "Cody should've caught the ball."

"That's not fair, Zack, you know Cody has a stigmatism."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, my brother's a tard." Zack said as he scoffed at what he saw as a lame excuse for Cody's lack of sporting ability. "Just because he's good at everything except sport doesn't mean he should have some stupid plea to cover it up!"

"Go to your room Zack!" Carey let out in one final burst of anger. "I don't want to see you for the rest of the evening. Go!"

Extending the livid glare that Zack had directed at Carey, he stood his ground, determined not to move a single inch. However, as her hand remained upright and pointed towards the twins' bedroom door Zack began to have second thoughts. Not to mention that, judging by the look that was situated all over her face, he only had about five more seconds before she completely lost it with him.

"Fine." He finally muttered in defeat, dragging his feet along the ground as he silently made his way to his bedroom.

"And don't you even think about slamming that door!" Carey called out just as Zack was about to do exactly that. He let out another annoyed groan, closing the door behind him and then turning around on the spot, his sight coming into contact with the last person he felt like seeing at that moment.

"Well would ya look at that, it's the totally incapable one."

Jolting his head slightly at the sound of his brother's voice, Cody looked up from his bed and the homework he was engrossed in, but instantly went busily back to work, ignoring Zack's offence attempts. "I hope you realise this is all your fault." Zack then spoke, again aiming for a snipe of retaliation from Cody.

"Enlighten me, Zack." Cody replied, pushing his study notes to one side and then looking up again.

"If you hadn't brought up my bad grade in front of Maddie - "

"You mean if _you _hadn't insulted me first?"

"Whatever!" Zack snapped, taking a bite at Cody's interruption. "The point is; I can't try out for basketball tomorrow because of you! I hope you're happy."

"Well, nothing that's important to me has been ruined." Cody said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice. He closed the book that he had been using for revision, got off his bed and then headed for the door. "So naturally, yes. Yes I am."

Zack shot daggers at the cynical smile that lay across Cody's face, before he left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Zack to simmer in the fury that had built up in the pit of his stomach.

"Nothing important to you has been ruined, hey?" Zack murmured to himself, his fists clenched tightly in the depths of his pockets. "We'll see about that, Cody."

* * *

**So there ya go. This idea came to be in a sudden burst, so I'd love to know what yaz think of it so far. Reviews? Reneyyyyy x**


	2. The 'H' Word

**Here's chapter two. Still more arguing going on, and more smart arse stylings from Zack, but that's what leads us to the major events in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Make sure you do the same for this one too :) !**

**

* * *

****Question 22: Which of the following words is NOT an onomatopoeia? **

**a) **boom

**b) **click

**c) **siren

**d) **thud

_Is there a fifth choice? _Zack thought, finding himself stuck on yet another question in the test that gawked up at him from his desk. _I can barely even pronounce the word ono… onomaty?… how ever the hell you say it!_

Zack sighed and collapsed back in his seat, finally admitting defeat. This wasn't good. Not only had he already been shifted up to the front of the room for attempting to cheat off someone else's test, but now he was pretty much definite that he had failed, even though he had tried his absolute hardest. And as Zack sat there, noisily tapping his pencil on his desk, the only thing he could think about was how another big, fat, red 'F' was going to look on his permanent record. But more importantly, what Carey was going to say when _she_ saw it.

"Mr. Martin!" The teacher, Miss Roberts, finally snapped. Aggravated, she sighed as both Zack and Cody shot their heads up at the sound of their last name. "_Zack_." She re-iterated, "I know that there are other things you'd rather be doing right now. Trust me, you're not the only one. But for the benefit of everyone else still taking the test, stop tapping your pencil!"

Zack groaned and reluctantly let out a soft 'sorry Miss' before gazing back down at his half empty test paper. Just as he was deciding whether to attempt to complete any more of it or not, the lunch bell suddenly rang and echoed throughout the entire school.

"Ok class, time's up. Please place your papers on my desk. And hurry, I have a science club meeting that I must attend this lunch time."

Complying with what Miss Roberts had asked, the class swiftly packed up their things and began to make their way to the front of the classroom. Zack however, remained where he was. The 17 out of 50 questions that he had a crack at didn't exactly encourage him to willingly hand in his exam.

"Hey Zack?"

His inner thoughts suddenly fading away from him, Zack gaped up at Cody who stood over him at his desk.

"Yeah, what?"

"Could you hand in my paper for me? I've gotta go to that same meeting as Miss Roberts."

"Ha!" Zack barked, the memories of his and Cody's argument from the previous day flooding back into his mind, "As if I'd - "

There was an abrupt pause. Then a smile that broadened on Zack's face. It seemed that another idea was unfolding in his brain as more memories from the day before returned to him; _Nothing important to you has been ruined, hey? We'll see about that, Cody._

" - I'd… give a second thought to helping you out, bro!"

"Thanks." Cody said with a smile, before making a quick dash to the door. "Cya later, Zack!"

"Later, Cody." Zack said, allowing a slight snigger to escape his lips as he stood up and walked over to Miss Roberts' desk. He placed his blank page on the table, but instead of mimicking the same action with Cody's, he quickly and subtly stuffed it in his jacket. Then before anybody in the room had the opportunity to catch onto what he was up to, Zack hurriedly left the room and hid behind a block of lockers that lined the wall outside the classroom.

As soon as Miss Roberts entered the corridor, closing the door to the English room behind her and walking towards the science end of the school, Zack smiled slyly and then approached the doorway, hoping it would be unlocked. With one sharp turn of the doorknob, it clicked open. Perfect.

Zack shuffled through the test papers that were piled on Miss Roberts' desk, looking over his shoulder every now and then in an effort to make sure he wouldn't get caught, before he finally came across his. He pulled Cody's out of his jacket and carefully compared the two. _Switch our names? _He thought to himself, _Nah, too obvious._

As the clock ticked down behind him, and the risk of a teacher walking in on him continually increased, Zack tried to come up with another idea. This test meant everything to Cody. Spring break started in a fortnight, and this was the class' last test for the semester. The mark was going to be applied to their permanent records, so it was vital that Cody did well.

_That's it! _Zack suddenly erupted in thought as he busily set about erasing about half of Cody's answers on his test. He then went back over it and circled different responses for each question that he had messed with.

Something important to Cody had definitely been ruined, because while Zack was still undoubtedly going to receive an 'F' for his examination, the fact the Cody would be rewarded with nothing more than a 'C' (or so Zack hoped) was going to make everything so worth it.

Circling the final 'd' on the page, Zack held Cody's paper up in front of him and grinned happily at his handy work. However, gazing upon his own work, he wasn't so impressed.

_Too bad you don't get extra marks for writing your name correctly._

----

Zack eagerly swung the door open and dumped his bag on the floor of the suite in one slick move. Cody entered after him, excited to tell their mum about how well he felt he did on their final test. Carey on the other hand didn't particularly look like she was in the mood to talk about school tests, or anything else for that matter, as she silently hung up the telephone with a look of disappointment sprawled across her face.

"Hey Mum." Cody asked sounding concerned, "What's up?"

"That was your English teacher, Miss Roberts." Carey replied, gesturing to the phone. "She was telling me that she had a free period at the end of the end of the day so she got straight to work on marking your tests."

Carey abruptly stopped in her tracks and seemed to hesitate. She walked over to Cody and stroked his hair. "Sweetie, do you realise that you got a 'C-' on your exam today?"

"What?!" Cody spat in disbelief.

"What?" Came an echo from Zack, who sounded perhaps a little too pleased at the news.

"Cody," Carey then began again, "Miss Roberts and I are both a little worried. I mean, you've always been fantastic at English. Did you find that test harder than all the others?"

"No." Cody quickly responded. "It was exactly the same as every other test I've taken this semester. I finished it with no troubles, checked it, double checked it, then I had a meeting to get to so I gave it to…"

All eyes in the room suddenly landed on Zack as Cody pointed towards his brother as a means of completing his sentence. That's when it clicked, and not just because Zack was wearing an expression of extreme guilt.

"Zack?" Carey asked accusingly.

"What did you do?!" Cody snapped, seconding the accusation.

Zack stared at the two pairs of indicting eyes that glared him down. It certainly didn't take long for him to be caught out, and it was that rather than the fact that he was going to be in even more trouble than he already was that worried him.

"Well it's only fair isn't it?!" Zack countered, willingly admitting that what had happened was his doing, "I miss out on basketball, you get a bad grade on the test."

"Zack, that was wrong!" Carey shouted as she wrapped an arm around Cody.

"Those test results go on our permanent records!" Cody yelled distressingly at his brother.

"Don't worry, sweetie." Carey spoke reassuringly to Cody, "We'll get your grade fixed up."

Zack's jaw dropped at this comment. "You're not going to dob me in are you?"

"That," Carey began, "and you just lost your whole first week of Spring break as well."

"You can't do that!"

"You are 15 years old, Zackary!" Zack took that as his cue to back down. The use of his full name twice in two days was definitely not a good sign of what was to come. "And you will do as I say. Now, apologise to your brother."

Carey impatiently nudged Cody slightly forward. He watched Zack's body language intently, trying his hardest to read what his brother was thinking, and ultimately, why he had done what he did.

"I'd rather give up my whole Spring, Summer **and** Christmas breaks." He finally emitted bitterly.

"Well if that's how you feel then you can just spend another evening in your room." Carey spoke eerily calmly. "No T.V, no Xbox, no music. Now."

Carey projected her gesture towards Zack's bedroom door as she had done the previous night, but Zack's eyes hadn't left Cody's the entire time in which she had spoken.

"I hate you."

Cody's strong stature weakened slightly once he heard this from Zack, and as he watched his older brother march off towards their room, Cody carefully began to pick apart what Zack had said to him. Whenever those three words left Zack's mouth in direction to Cody they had always been accompanied by a sarcastically slurred tone or a meaningless burst of anger, but this time it was backed up by nothing else but cold, harsh, and entirely believable emotion.

"And if I hear any noise coming from that room, I will snip every one of your electrical cords in half, young man!" Carey yelled, snapping Cody back into reality.

"I'd like to see you try!"

The bedroom door then slammed with full force, causing both Cody and Carey to cringe at the ear piercing smash that ricocheted through the suite.

"Oh, he is asking for it." Carey said threateningly as she stomped heated with fury towards the twins' door.

Cody thought that after 15 years Carey surely would've learnt by now to not encourage Zack's reckless moods when they came about, but apparently rage really could blind someone, even a loving mother. "Don't, Mum." He said grabbing her wrist and giving her a soft smile as she cast her gaze on him. "You'll only be adding more flames to the fire if you make a grand entrance like that. Don't worry, he'll come round."

Carey instantly returned the smile to her youngest son as she pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him on the top of his head. "You're right, Cody." She spoke, her voice ominous with praise. They then parted, Carey's arms still clinging to each of Cody's shoulders. "I'm sure he was just angry at me when he said those things to you, sweetie."

"Yeah." Cody quickly agreed, "I know."

But that was the thing. Cody didn't know. The only thing he was sure of was that nothing Zack had ever said to him before had seemed that enraged but still just as serious. And even though he was just as mad that his twin had tried to sabotage him like he did, something told Cody that this time Zack had really meant what he said. Really, _really_ meant it.

* * *

**Don't go losing interest. Zack gets snatched in the next chapter. But remember, the reviews encourage me to write faster :)**

**Reneyyyyy x**


	3. Can This Be Considered Hell?

**Get ready, here's a short little chapter of what may be the final showdown between our favourite twins. And then of course the kidnapping. Don't worry, this is the last chapter that had nothing but arguments, so all you have to do is read it and feel sorry for Zack at the end, kay? Good job.**

* * *

Click. _Horror movie. _Click. _Late night wrestling. _Click. _Girls of the Playboy Mansion? Tempting, but…_ click. _Another horror movie?_

Cody groaned and turned the television off, then collapsed back in his seat, tossing the remote control on the lounge next to him. He sighed. Why was it that there seemed to be nothing good on T.V nowadays? But then again, Cody supposed that the fact it was almost 11:30 at night didn't really leave a window for 'good viewing' wide open.

_Oh crap, is that the time? _Cody thought again, double checking his watch.

Carey had left to begin her performance in the hotel dining room near enough an hour ago, and Cody suspected that she wouldn't be too happy if she returned home to find him still awake. Or Zack for that matter.

Zack. The image of his brother suddenly crossed Cody's mind. He had been banished to his room near enough 8 hours ago, but he still hadn't made a single appearance. Not for dinner, or to collect his school bag that had been left on the floor of the suite, or even to use the bathroom. Nothing.

Quickly becoming curious, Cody arose from the chair that he had parked himself in and headed towards his bedroom door, knocking softly three times upon his arrival. He hoped that his brother had calmed down, though as his attempts to open the door were unexpectedly thwarted by a sudden impact of weight, he soon came to the conclusion that Zack was still fuming.

"Zack? Let me in." Cody said as he continually, but pointlessly, tried to push Zack away from the other side of the door. "This isn't funny, Zack, it's immature!"

As Cody summoned up the strength for one final push, Zack subtly released his weight from the doorway, causing the momentum to send Cody flying straight towards the ground as the door opened. He gazed up from the carpeted floor at the sight of Zack laughing at him.

"Begging will not get you back in my good books, Cody." Zack began mockingly, "Even if you are on your hands and knees. Pathetic."

As Zack's laughter prolonged while he made his way into the kitchen, Cody lifted himself up, the instant memories of his brother's nasty prank flooding back into his mind.

"Coming from you," Cody countered, mimicking his brother's path out of the bedroom, "the 'great Zack Martin' whose only concerns are making some stupid basketball team and deciding which girl you're going to hit on each day. And I'm the pathetic one?"

"Good job, Cody." Zack replied, backing up his retort with some sarcastic, slow clapping, "You managed to come up with a whole _two_ arguments against me!"

"I've got 15 years worth of arguments against you, Zack."

"Well in those 15 years did you purposely forget all the good things?" Zack responded, impulsively feeling heated at his intuition of another argument on the horizon, "What about all the times I've been there for you? I've stuck up for you in front of Moesby, in front of Drew, in front of the whole God damn school when you were making your stupid, little class president speech! Does all of that suddenly count for nothing?"

"Not when you pull a stunt like this, and make such an eruption out of it!"

"All you had to do was catch the ball, Cody."

Of course. That ball. The reason the glass fragments of the hotel front door broke, and the reason why Cody could feel himself getting into what may be the most serious argument he and Zack had ever found themselves in. "You know I have a stigma - "

"Don't start on me with that stigmatism crap!" Zack sharply interjected, "The real fact of the matter is that you're jealous because I'm the sporty one, I'm the one with more friends, I'm the cool twin - "

"Who's going to amount to nothing!" Cody spat, countering the interruption.

"Well, at least I'll have a hot babe on my arm who won't be afraid to be seen with me in public!"

"Go to hell, Zack!" Cody suddenly snapped, feeling all the rage in the pit of his stomach explode in a burst anger towards his twin.

"Anywhere without you is fine by me." Zack answered, still sounding just as bitter.

"Then why don't you just leave?!"

By this point, Cody's breathing had gotten deeper, his muscles tighter, and his mind blinded more than ever by fury. "I don't care if I ever see you again." He finally concluded ruthlessly and certain in what he was saying.

"Well," Zack replied after he had given himself time to comprehend Cody's statement and walk in the direction of the suite's front door, "that makes two of us."

The brass door knob creaked as Zack turned it, and it added an eerie tone to the awkward silence that the boys had sunk to. "And I still hate you." Zack announced as he left the room, being sure to crash the door into place once he was in the vicinity of the hallway.

He grunted in aggravation as he rubbed his temples and combed his hair back between his fingers. Zack needed to leave. He could feel himself doing or saying something he would surely regret if he were to stay in his suite any longer, so he dragged his feet in the direction of the elevator, punching the down button before impatiently waiting for it to arrive. The golden 25 instantly lit up, then the 24, then at last - 'ding'.

Zack cast his eyes on the young man that appeared before him in the confined space, but quickly shot his gaze down to the floor and silently stepped into the elevator.

"Going down?" The man asked, catching the blonde boy's attention.

"Yeah." Zack said, not showing any particular emotion with the words he spoke. "Way down."

----

The brightness of the street light blinded Zack as he walked by. Where was he going? He didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care. As long as he was away from Cody the amount of aimlessness in his stride didn't bother him one bit, nor did the fact that it was now past the 11:30 mark of the night.

The street was empty, the Tipton Hotel far behind him now. It seemed to Zack that there was no-one left in the entire universe who understood him, but maybe that was exactly how people wanted him to feel. His teachers would no longer have to struggle to teach him. His mother would no longer have to discipline or be disappointed in him. His brother, his _twin_ brother, would no longer have to see him. Ever again, like Cody himself had requested.

Everyone would be happier in Zack's opinion, especially himself. The concern of stepping on other people's toes would diminish, and the only person he would have to look after would be himself. Dead easy. Or so he thought -

_**Crack!**_

- Came the sound effects from a sudden sharp and heavy pain that exploded from the back of Zack's head. Something, or more likely, _someone _had hit him. Zack spontaneously dropped to a heap on the cold, concreted floor as all sights and images around him began to blur. As he began to feel the warm blood drip down from the blunt wound on the crown of his head, he tried his hardest to remain conscious, awake at the least. But slowly and surely, Zack's will to keep his eyes open disappeared, and his whole world, the one he felt he had been left alone in, turned black.

Looking after yourself; dead easy? Perhaps in this case, dead had been the operative word.

* * *

**Ha! I said the kidnapping would take place, not you'd get any details on it just yet :) I'm afarid you'll have to wait and keep reading, and of course, REVIEW :)**

**Reneyyyyyy x**


	4. Good Morning Sunshine

**Here's chapter 4. It's longer and more deatailed, and yes, you are lucky enough to be introduced to the lovely man that knocked Zack out and stole him off the street in the previous chapter :)**

**Lemme know what ya think ok? Good job =) R&R!!**

* * *

Darkness enveloped the boy as he lay in bed, the incessant ticking of the clock on the nightstand preventing him from fulfilling any chance he might have had of a decent sleep. He sat up in bed and glanced with frustrated eyes at the glow in dark face of the clock. He groaned. 12:30 a.m. Collapsing back into the comfort of his pillow, he began to toss and turn again as the thoughts of everything that had happened that evening made themselves familiar in his mind once more. It had been about an hour since the unexpected, sharp ache had appeared out of nowhere and started throbbing in the back of his head. The pain had been unbearable, as had the immense dizziness that followed it. But now after deciding to send himself to bed in an attempt to sleep off the pain, and sixty straight minutes of tossing and turning and convincing himself that it was just a simple headache, Cody began to suspect that there was something else going on. Zack still wasn't back.

Then, as if on cue, the door to the twins' bedroom finally creaked open. Cody rolled his eyes at the image of Zack standing in the doorway that appeared in his imagination. He wasn't shocked in the slightest. There was no way that Zack would ever really run away, no matter what consequences laid his path at home. Although, as cruel as it may have been to admit, at that moment Cody didn't particularly care whether Zack came home or not. He was too angry to care, and definitely too angry to take back what he had said earlier.

"Managed to find your way home then?" Cody sniped.

"Well… yes, seeing as I was only downstairs."

Cody impulsively shot up in bed at the definite sound of femininity that came from the person in the doorway. Carey gawped back at Cody, a look of confusion sprawled plainly across her face.

"I-I thought you were Zack." Cody eventually spoke, almost in a whisper.

There was an abrupt silence that lasted all but two seconds as Carey immediately caught on to what Cody had said. "You mean Zack isn't here?"

Cody shook his head after some hesitation. "We had a fight and he left."

All expression instantly dropped from Carey's face. Though much like the silence that previously filled the boys' bedroom, it didn't last long.

A cringing look of anger took over Carey's appearance. Not only had Zack blatantly and deliberately disobeyed her, but now she was hearing that her 15 year old son was all by himself wandering around in the wide, open world somewhere in the early hours of the morning.

"Oh my God." Was all Carey could muster to say as she marched with fury into the lounge room. Cody immediately followed her, preparing himself for any profanities that may have willingly escaped his mother's lips. She snatched up the phone from where it rested on the arm of the lounge and hastily punched Zack's mobile number into it. "That little - " Carey began, only bringing her wrathful voice to a halt when she spied Cody standing in the entrance to his bedroom.

"I swear," she then started again as the dial tone continued, still being unanswered, "that brother of yours is going to be grounded for_ so_ long. He is not going to have another single free day left in this year!"

As much as he was anticipating the thought of Zack being locked up in his room for the rest of eternity, there was still something of an uncomfortable feeling twinging in the back of Cody's head. And it wasn't just the dizziness that was still there, either. He couldn't even possibly being to explain it, but something gave him the feeling that Zack wasn't ok. Something was definitely wrong.

"When I get my hands on him…" Carey then spoke, snapping Cody out of his trance. He gulped and took one final gaze up at the rage filled persona that had taken over Carey, but then took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"Mum, there's something else wrong here - "

"I do not want to hear it, Cody!" She interjected, obviously frustrated with what seemed to be a never ending dial tone echoing into her brain, "If there's something else Zack has done I think you'd be best to tell me later, or else I may just be tempted to kill him when he drags his sorry arse - "

"No Mum, it's nothing like that!" Cody barked, countering the interruption. "Mum, he left an hour ago."

Instantly after these words had been spoken, Carey's heart sank. What Cody didn't know was that it was for two reasons. One was the news of the fact that Zack had been outside and alone since before midnight, but the second? Zack's phone had been answered at the other end. But it wasn't Zack.

"I'm sorry," a voice spoke. It was a cold, harsh voice, and one that obviously belonged to a man, "Zack can't come to the phone right now." Then there was nothing. Only the droned out dead tone of the phone that had been hung up.

Carey was frozen; her vision fixed on the cream coloured phone that sat in her shaky hand.

"Mum?" Cody finally opted to ask, "Mum? What's wrong?"

He looked on with worried eyes at Carey as she attempted to respond. She tried - really tried - but she couldn't. All she could do was stand there, immobile, and recreate the sound of the spine chilling voice over and over again in her head. Then suddenly, realising the gravity of the situation, she snapped out of whatever daze she had fallen into and rapidly dialled the one phone number that she hadn't had to use in a long time.

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency?"

"Get me the police!" Carey shouted down the handset in an instant.

"Police?" Cody echoed, confused, "Mum, wh- "

"Cody, go get your cell phone and call your dad!" Carey spat, giving Cody no chance to conclude his question or even ask why Kurt had suddenly been brought into everything.

"Someone's got Zack!"

----

Zack's eyes slowly blinked open after being asleep for what seemed like forever. He envisioned everything that he loved about the suite around him; his room - as messy as ever, filled to the brink with all of his prized possessions, and of course, Cody's bed facing his from the opposite side of the room. But unfortunately, as his sight eventually became less blurred and returned to normal, he found that the peaceful image of home that he imagined was extremely far from where he really was.

Zack leapt up in a cold sweat and darted his once sleepy eyes around the unfamiliar room. He was in a bed. It wasn't his bed, but a bed all the same, though the four walls surrounding him suddenly became the least of his worries as he then remembered what had happened to him and how he ended up there. He had been walking down some random street in Boston, which at the time he thought was close enough to the Tipton, but was soon proven wrong when a tremendous pain indulged itself in the back of his head. He couldn't recall anything after that.

Trying his absolute hardest to contain himself, Zack took a few deep breaths and continued to analyse the room he was enclosed in. One thing he was sure of was that it was a bedroom, there was no doubt about that. But it was the minor details that confused him. Looking around, no matter where in the room his vision landed, one thing always stood out. The name 'Daniel'. It was everywhere; labels, stickers, wall hangers, the name was even carved into the head of the bed.

_Did this guy belt me thinking I was his kid or something? _Zack thought to himself, as he dared to touch the lump that was rapidly forming on the back of his head. He flinched at the wincing pain the erupted from it as soon as his hand made contact with the flaky, dry blood that stuck to his hair line.

_If so, I'm suddenly warming to the idea of Mum grounding me as a discipline technique._

All the thoughts that Zack had been blocking out until now suddenly flooded back into his mind while he gasped at his subconscious mention of Carey. Everyone who cared about him. How worried they would all be. His mum, dad, Maddie, London, Moesby… Cody.

Zack needed to get out, that fact he now swore to himself. Besides from this, he came up with three other theories. One, though it frightened him to even consider it; he had been kidnapped. Two; the culprit was the man in the Tipton elevator, as he was the last person that Zack had seen. And three; peering out the window, he discovered that it was morning. Had he really just been peacefully sleeping all night long?

Every bit of thought that was straining Zack's brain then made a change that was the last to be expected. That change was a standstill. His notions all diminished perfectly in time with the rusty doorknob shaking, creaking, and then in due course, turning.

Zack held his breath and anxiously watched the door open. "Good morning, Zack." Came some instant dialogue with the man that stood in the doorway.

Zack did nothing but stare up at the man, speechless. The image that had originally enticed his imagination of what his kidnapper would look like fell to pieces at his true appearance. He was… well, _presentable_. It was certainly hard for Zack to describe, but the stereotype of a sadistic looking, perverted child snatcher was immediately erased. He was a neatly trimmed, clean shaven, normal looking man, and not the man that Zack had run into in the elevator like he had first suspected. But not only that, he was also below average in height and not exactly what anyone would describe as 'built'. And this was the guy who had knocked Zack out for the entire night?

"Sorry about that bump on the head," he then began again, snapping Zack out of his train of thought, "but I just had to make sure you were gonna stay asleep."

As the man seemed to be examining Zack almost as detailed as Zack was him, he crept closer towards where the teenager sat on the bed. While he slowly leaned forward and made an attempt to study his wound perhaps a little to closely, the uncomfortable level of the situation suddenly skyrocketed for Zack as he felt himself snap under the pressure of the fear that had built up inside of him.

"No!" He let out in a loud outburst, "Don't touch me! And how do you know my name?!"

The man allowed a sick smirk to appear across his lips at the discomfort that had suddenly taken over Zack. Then, reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out what was revealed to be Zack's mobile phone. Zack looked on as the man then turned it around, showing off the label on the back that clearly read 'Zack'. That's what he got for Carey buying him and Cody the exact same phone.

"Your mummy rang in to check on you. But you don't have to worry about her anymore."

Zack could feel the colour instantly drain from his face. His breathing got heavier, his stomach tighter, and his mind insanely twisted into worry and fright at the thought of being ripped away from his family and friends forever. Although he may have slightly considered the idea of being kidnapped shortly before, it was only really beginning to sink in now. And Zack couldn't stand it.

"No!!" He yelled in sync with leaping off the bed, "No more, I'm leaving now! I'm going home!!"

Zack threw his entire weight at the hefty man that blocked his escape. His plan was simple enough in his mind; get past his kidnapper, run out the door, and then create as much noise and attention as possible. But things were never really that simple.

Zack winced and yelled at the blow that struck across his face. Shortly afterward he felt his breath being abruptly shortened. The whole encounter only seemed to have lasted about two seconds, but the pain Zack felt certainly told him otherwise. He opened his eyes as well as he could after the both of them had nearly been knocked out of his skull, and looked fearfully into the eyes of his captor that had him lifted into a choke hold and slammed him against a wall.

"Looks can be deceiving, hey kid?"

Zack remained silent. He didn't feel like he was in the position to take anymore chances. Especially after the last move that the lovely gentleman had made.

"Look, kid, I don't plan on hurting you." Feeling some slight relief, Zack was taken back a bit by this statement, though it didn't last long as the next thing he felt was the grip around his neck tighten ever so slightly. "But push the wrong buttons and my plans _will change_. Understand?"

Zack then nodded as much as one possibly could in a choke hold before he was dropped to the floor.

"Good." The man boomed as he rolled up his sleeve, glancing at his watch. "Now, I've got to go work to get us some money. I've got big ideas for us, kid."

Frozen on the ground, Zack looked up at the man through his one blacked eye and one normal one, hoping and praying that he would just leave the room. Just as it looked like he was about to do so, he about faced once more, his hand still clenched firmly on the doorknob.

"By the way, my name's Phil. We're going to be spending a lot of time together from now on."

And with that, finally, Phil was gone.

Zack eventually felt his regular breathing pattern redeem itself, but even that couldn't calm the raging pain that lined his whole body. His mind was racing at a million miles a minute, and as all the 'what if' questions unwillingly began to make laps through his head, he reluctantly curled up into a ball on the ground and clapped his eyes shut, trying his very hardest to wake himself from the horrible nightmare that he was trapped in.

* * *

**Sooooo, what did yaz think? Anyone care to take any guesses as to what's going to happen later, or what Phil might do for a living and be planning for Zack?**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll try to update soonly. But for now you could always R&R!!!**

**Reneyyy x**


	5. A Triplet Perhaps?

The elevator came to a sudden stop at the 19th floor, causing Kurt Martin to curse under his breath. The doors opened slowly to reveal the fragile figure of an elderly woman who made her eventual entrance into the small space.

_Step up the pace a bit lady. _Kurt thought rudely to himself, _I've already taken enough time getting here as it is._

"You're up early." The woman said, snapping Kurt from his deep trance.

"S-sorry?" He replied half-heartedly, pushing his black hair away from his tear stained eyes.

The woman smiled at him. "A lot on your mind?" She asked curiously. Kurt sighed at her extremely poor choice of words and stayed silent, but smiled politely all the same.

The gap between the two doors then closed as the elevator resumed its upward journey towards the 23rd floor. "Visiting someone? Family?" The lady immediately said in an attempt to recommence the conversation.

"I guess you could say that." Kurt responded with hardly any strain being put on his voice box.

"Ah yes, I guessed that you looked like a family man. Do you have children?"

Kurt shot his head up at the instant grip that took hold of his heart at the thought of his boys; at the thought of Zack. He couldn't shake the feeling that had impulsively taken over his body as soon as Cody had told him what happened over the phone. The details were sketchy, that was for sure, but even the slightest idea of either of the boys being under any threat was enough to break Kurt down. And the fact that Zack was nowhere to be found and in the custody of a strange and possibly dangerous man definitely fell into the 'break down' category.

"Y-yes." Kurt continued trying to remain as courteous as possible. "Two boys. Twins."

"Oh, how lovely for you!" The woman exclaimed. "How old are they? What are their names?"

Just as this last question left the woman's lips, the doors of the elevator gaped open at the 23rd floor, and simultaneously, Kurt lost all well-mannered control that he had managed to muster.

"What does it matter to you, lady?" He sniped while he walked towards the entry to the hallway. "Mind your own business!"

Then before the doors had the chance to close, or Kurt even had the chance to register the look of shock that had materialised across the woman's face, he took off down the hallway zooming past 29 tall, cream coloured doors until he finally found himself standing before the entrance to suite 2330.

Not entirely sure what lay his path beyond the door, and frankly feeling quite frightened about the whole situation, Kurt reluctantly twisted the golden doorknob and gazed into the depths of the suite's lounge room; his heart sinking at the image that he set his eyes on.

Carey was sitting on the arm of one of the lounge chairs. Her eyes were visibly red and puffy, her hair was a complete mess, and the soft pink colour of her tear soiled pyjamas gleamed in the light of the suite. It wasn't exactly the most heart warming sight. There were also two police men - one was flipping through some notes in his notebook and the other was fiddling with what looked to be one of those telephone tracking devices you see in all those crime movies. Although sadly, this was no movie.

In between all these different thoughts and theories, something else suddenly crossed Kurt's mind. Cody. Where was Cody?

"Kurt!" Carey suddenly yelped out at the sight of her ex-husband standing in the doorway. She leapt off the lounge and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him and letting some silent, unwilling tears fall from her face to his shoulder.

"It's 6a.m, where have you been?"

"I'm sorry." Kurt immediately blurted out in reply, "I was in Connecticut, I had only just got off stage and back in my trailer when Cody rang me. I got here as fast as I could."

Kurt comfortingly rubbed Carey's shoulders as he spoke, though he could tell it wasn't particularly working as well as he might have liked. "Anyway," he restarted, "where's Cody? Are you both holding up ok?"

Without responding to his second question, Carey pointed Kurt in the direction of where Cody was sitting on the lounge in front of a woman officer who looked to be interviewing him.

"Cody!" Kurt called out when he finally spotted his youngest son.

Cody looked up at the sound of his father's voice and gave him a half-welcoming smile as Kurt dashed over to him and squeezed him into a bear hug.

"Oh, Cody. Don't worry, buddy, it's ok. Everything's going to be ok."

"I'm fine Dad, I'm fine." Cody clearly uttered as he wriggled out of Kurt's hold on him.

Watching on from the opposite end of the lounge was the female police officer. She had long jet black hair and deep blue eyes. Her face was expressionless, but that may be to be expected when someone chose to be involved in this line of work.

"Mr. Martin I'm taking it?" She asked.

Kurt immediately lifted his head in response. "Yeah, call me Kurt."

"I'm officer Shannon Elliot, this is my partner, Tray Michaels." Shannon continued, gesturing towards the policeman who had been previously scanning through his notes.

Kurt shook hands with both officers as he opened his mouth to speak again. "Is someone able to tell me what's going on? Please, what's happened to my son - is Zack ok?"

Standing closer than he had been previously, Tray placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

Cody liked Tray. They had been talking for almost an hour prior to Kurt's arrival and he seemed to be a lot softer personality wise and easier to get along with than Shannon was. And what Cody appreciated even more was that their conversation hadn't all been about Zack. Tray had been very good at getting to know Cody a little better and just trying to make him feel comfortable with talking to him. He must have been dealing with kids in cases like this for a long time, Cody thought.

"Kurt," Tray began, "our officers have been out searching the area to try and locate Zack since the time of your ex wife's phone call, but I'm afraid we've had no luck."

If Kurt's heart could descend any further into the pit of his body, it would without a doubt be at rock bottom by now, and while he tried to come to terms with what he was hearing some more choked tears erupted from Carey.

"Whoever has Zack has given us enough reason to raise the situation to a full scale investigation." Shannon added.

Cody sat in silence while he examined his parent's body language. He hoped that nobody was wondering why he was remaining so eerily composed throughout the whole ordeal. He himself wasn't even that sure.

"We were just asking Cody here some questions." Tray spoke, his contact with Cody's shoulder pulling him back into reality. "He was the last person to see Zack before he disappeared."

Carey prolonged to sob into Kurt's shirt while the two of them watched intently as Shannon and Tray turned all their attention back to Cody.

"Now Cody," Tray said setting the wheels into motion, "you said that you and Zack were arguing before he ran off?"

"Yes," Cody replied irritated, "I've told you everything I know."

"Are you really sure, buddy? How bout you go over it once more to make sure you aren't forgetting anything?"

"I've gone over it four times already!" Cody suddenly snapped.

"Ok, well, can you tell us any thing Zack enjoys doing or likes going when he's angry?" Shannon interjected.

Cody shot his gaze up at her. The previous talk he had had one on one with Tray was quickly becoming to seem about a million times more pleasant than this. At least that conversation didn't revolve around an endless loop of questions.

"What is that, a question for babies?" Cody spat, "I'm 15!"

Shannon groaned and snapped her notebook shut. "Look, we are doing whatever we can to get your brother back." She criticized, "You want him to be ok don't you?"

Cody licked his lips while his glare stayed fixed on Shannon. He opened his mouth, but much to his surprise, no words came out. Cody hesitated. The memory of the last words Zack spoke to him suddenly strolled into his mind.

'_I still hate you'._

So that was that. Zack hated Cody. Zack wouldn't care if Cody was the one who was kidnapped. Would he?

"Of course he does!"

The sound of Carey's voice made Cody jump as his train of thought was abruptly derailed.

"He's just tired, aren't you baby?"

Cody shrugged Carey's grip from his shoulders and said nothing. What was the point if no-one was listening to what he had to say anyway?

"He's been up all night." Carey then spoke again in continuation of Cody's defense. "Why don't you try to get some sleep, Cody?" She asked him. "I know it might be a little difficult to sleep with what's going on, but - "

"I'll be fine."

Then without another word, Cody slinked off into his and Zack's room. After gently closing the door behind him, he climbed into bed and crawled down into the comfort of his blankets. Just like he had said, Cody instantly felt the feeling of slumber creep up on him. Fighting to keep his eyes open, Cody stared up at the ceiling and recited some of the comments made by his parents and the police in his head. Why was it they all expected him to be so broken and depressed about Zack's disappearance?

_Zack hates me…_

Cody threw himself over onto his side and subtly erased Zack's voice from his head. He had undoubtedly heard enough of it for one lifetime. But throughout all of the hurtful comments and insults that had been thrown back and forth between them, it seemed that Cody's final remark to Zack had infact been the one to leave the harshest mark. Cody had said that he didn't care if he ever saw Zack again, and then in pretty much a blink of an eye, his older brother was gone. It was almost like it was a twisted wish come true.

As Cody at long last gave into his mind's need to close his eyes and he felt himself drifting into an oddly peaceful sleep considering the circumstances, one last thought crossed his serene subconscious -

_Next time I'll remember to be more precise to where I want him to end up._

----

Zack stared at the bedroom door uneasily, forcing himself with all of his might not to blink. He was definitely shaken up, but the next time Phil came for him he was going to be ready. But their last encounter had been ages ago now, hours even. Zack was fairly certain that he wasn't coming back anytime soon.

Still sitting twisted into a quivering ball on the floor, Zack reluctantly leapt up and stood unbalanced. His head was spinning uncontrollably, almost causing him to collapse back to the ground.

_Aw man, _Zack thought to himself, grasping hold of his head, _what's wrong with me?_

His stomach instantly grumbled to him in reply. That's when it hit him. Considering how unpopular Zack had been with his family for the past 24 or so hours, he hadn't dared left his room at the risk of being dragged into another argument. This also meant, however, that he hadn't eaten or drank anything for almost that same amount of time. And it was just beginning to catch up with him.

"Not the smartest idea you've come up with, Zack." He spoke to himself, breaking the pestering silence that filled the room.

Gazing around for the first time since he had gathered the strength to stand up, Zack's eyes cast onto the image of an ensuite at the opposite end of the room. The floorboards creaked eerily beneath his feet as he made his way towards the space's extra extent, and the tiled floor of the ensuite conducted similarly. There was definitely a creepy feeling that filled the entire house. Or apartment. Or loft, or… wherever Zack was being kept. There were so many details about the whole occurrence that didn't make sense to him. Why had Phil taken him in the first place? Where was he being held, and what were these 'plans' he had been slightly, if that, informed about? Fixing his eyes at his reflection in the mirror and cringing at what he saw, another question popped into Zack's mind straight away. If Phil had said he didn't want to hurt him, why was it that the blow that had been cast upon him left Zack with one big, ugly black eye?

All expression from his face dropped before Zack instantly felt the urge to turn away from the mirror and refresh himself with a drink of water from the tap like he had originally planned. About three seconds after the rusty tap had been turned, the not-so-desirable water began to flow as Zack caught the liquid in his cupped hands. He drank slowly and in moderation, though this was mainly because of the un-natural taste that filled his mouth. Once he felt the vast majority of his head spins fading, Zack turned off the faucet and returned to the main section of the bedroom.

'Daniel'. There that name was again, just adding to the mass amount of un-answered questions that were already doing over time in Zack's head.

Maybe Daniel had been the previous owner of the room. That was the only real reason Zack could see fit to explain why all of this other boy's possessions had been left there. Not that there were many other items, a few odds and ends at the most.

Zack walked along the outer edge of the room a bit more, still scoping around to try and find any decent remedies for his many thoughts and queries. But what he would find next would do nothing but puzzle him even more.

Taking a sudden double take, Zack gawped wide-eyed at a small picture that lay face-up on the great chest of drawers that sat on the back wall. He shook his head and blinked a few times, but much to his confusion the picture stayed the same. A child who looked almost exactly the same as him.

Like he had first thought, this kid wasn't Zack. And a hasty second look told him immediately that it wasn't Cody. But it was most certainly a blue eyed teenage boy who's blonde hair came to just about his shoulders. A splitting image of the Martin twins.

Zack dropped the photo in an instant and attempted to catch his breath at the frightening concepts that impulsively filled his mind. Perhaps he had just come across the answer as to why Phil had taken him in the first place. Did he have some sick obsession with blonde haired teenage boys? And when he told Zack about getting money for their 'big plans' did that suggest that he buttered up his victims with money and toys before he went through with the _real_ reason he kidnapped them? That would explain why this Daniel kid had so much stuff lying around. And why he wasn't here now.

His black eye rapidly becoming the least of his concerns, Zack combed his hair back between his fingers and breathed deeply and quickly as he backed into the bed. If he had been able to remain calm before, that was increasingly beginning to change. But the part that could possibly be named scariest of all at that moment was that before Zack could have any of his questions answered for sure, he would have to wait for Phil to come back first.

* * *

**Like it? Lemme know what yaz think, and don't be shy! Could I at least get to 12, maybe 13 reveiws before I update again? Plsm :)**

**Reneyyyy x**


	6. The Department Of Distrust

**Welcome back readers :)**

**There hasn't really been anything exciting going on lately in this story has there? Hmm. I think it's about time I threw a spanner in the works. Enjoy.**

* * *

Tray watched as all the flowering trees and all the kids playing in the street whizzed by him in a blur as he and Shannon drove past Liberty Park. There was nothing like a beautiful Spring day in Boston. The snow was slowly beginning to melt away and all the trees were turning a striking bright green colour again. But there was too much else on Tray's mind at that moment for him to appreciate everything around him. As he failed to take in anything in his whereabouts, he spied Shannon taking a long drag of her cigarette and then ashing it out the window from the corner of his eye.

"Do ya have to do that now?"

Shannon narrowed her eyes at her partner but quickly turned her attention back to the road. "What? I can't do it at work."

"It's a dirty habit. You should really think about trying to quit."

"Over my dead body."

Tray chuckled to himself as the two officers smiled at each other. "Exactly my point."

Tray watched as Shannon's grip on the steering wheel tightened. She was just as stressed as he was. They had caught themselves countless times trying to figure out why people did it; why people chose to be so horrible as to harm little kids. It was sick. Though as much as it had crossed their minds, both detectives had come to the bitter conclusion that it was just the way some people were. It was one of those unfair things in the world that couldn't be helped.

The pair had only just left the Tipton after questioning some of the other residents and employees and were now on their way back to the station. There were still a lot of inconclusive aspects of the investigation that needed to be figured out.

Shannon flicked on her left blinker as the car slowly pulled into her parking spot next to Tray's. She sighed and turned the engine off before putting out her smoke and jamming it back into her packet. "Ready when you are." She spoke to Tray, locking the car as soon as the two of them stepped out.

"You wanna tell Captain that an adorable little 15 year old boy has been snatched or shall I?" He asked her reply.

"We only just put away a sadistic kidnapper last week. I think we'd both better back each other up on this one."

Shannon and Tray both nodded to one another and then instantly headed through the big double doors of Boston's police station. After about one and a half flights of stairs, they made their eventual entrance to their department. The hustle and bustle of everyone weaving in and out of each other's way was beyond apparent for them as Shannon and Tray walked over to their desks and settled into another day at the office.

"File for ya, Tray."

"Thanks Mitch." Tray responded, taking Zack's very empty police file out of Mitch's hand. He opened it up and began to scan through what details they had so far, which were near enough none at all.

"Whatcha got for me, Michaels?" Came the sudden booming voice of Carter Brookes, Shannon and Tray's Captain.

"Kidnapping, Captain." Tray answered.

"Another one?"

"Fraid so." Shannon interjected.

Carter groaned and quickly skulled the last third of his coffee before throwing the paper cup in the bin next to Shannon's desk. "Well come on then, details."

Tray flipped back to the front page of the police report and started reading it out loud. "At the time of 12:33a.m, we received a distress call from Carey Martin. Her 15 year old son Zackary was taken between 11:30pm and the time of the call."

"And you know those times how?"

"11:30 was the time Zack left his suite at the Tipton Hotel." Shannon said, filling in the gap, "That's what his brother Cody told us, who we first believed was the last person to see Zack before he disappeared, but further investigation showed that another one of the Tipton residents actually saw Zack afterward in the elevator, though he too confirmed 11:30 as the correct time."

"Well what about locations?" Carter asked, sounding frustrated at the unfortunate situation.

Tempers were running high by this stage, especially seeing as it was now on the verge of 7:30 in the morning and everyone had been running around like headless chickens for an hour and a half trying to catch the guy responsible for snatching up Zack.

It was an extremely tense scene to walk into for anybody, but none more so than a new officer who today was beginning their first day on the job, just like Leroy Burns.

Leroy's senses went stir crazy as soon as he stepped foot into his new office. There were other police men and women everywhere, running around, talking, yelling, printing off files, some even just sitting in the background making coffee. But any way he looked at it, Leroy could tell that this experience was going to be a challenge, particularly when he clapped eyes on his new boss, Captain Carter Brookes, right in the middle of running a riot act.

"Or any leads?" Carter roared again, "Anything that might give us any idea what this sick creep has done with that little boy?"

Gulping, Leroy casually walked up behind Carter and cleared his throat as a means of catching his attention. "Um, excuse me, Captain Brookes?"

Carter's head flicked around at the sound of his voice. He remained wearing a confused expression for a couple of moments before he caught onto just who he was looking at. "Ah, Officer Burns, from… New York?"

"New Jersey." Leroy corrected him.

"Well let me be the first to welcome you to the team. This is Shannon Elliot and Tray Michaels."

Shannon and Tray both smiled and shook hands with Leroy. "Nice to meet you. And welcome." Shannon added.

"Thanks, it's great to be here." Leroy said, exchanging the smile. "Is that the case I'll be working on?" He asked as he gestured towards the file that Tray was holding a tight grasp on.

"Oh no." Carter cut in, "You and your new partner are working on a different case at the moment."

"New partner?" Shannon interrupted, a slight hint of misunderstanding lingering in her voice. Suddenly, her eyes widened as it seemed she had caught onto whatever hadn't previously made sense to her. "Oh, Captain, you didn't?"

"What?" Carter sniped in his defense, "Come on, Shannon, it happened two years ago. I think it's just about time that we all move on."

"Yeah?" Tray butted in, "Try telling that to **him** when he gets here."

"What are you talking about?" Leroy queried, sounding more puzzled than Shannon had beforehand, "What happened? And who are you talking about?"

"Just your wonderful new partner." Tray said obviously trying a little too hard to sound supportive.

"Who's got a new partner?" Came the abrupt addition of an extra voice.

All four officers looked up and gawked at the person who had interrupted their conversation. Shannon and Tray glanced at each other worriedly.

"Um, you do Phil." Tray spoke cautiously.

Leroy stepped away from the group and studied his short, clean shaven colleague up and down, before projecting his hand forward. "Great to meet you, I'm Leroy Burns. I'm sure it's going to be terrific working with you." He waited for any sign of response from Phil, but unsurprisingly for everybody else there, Leroy didn't receive one. "Phil's your name is it?"

Prolonging his need to ignore Officer Burns, Phil shot an angry look up at his Captain and groaned. "You are not serious!"

Leroy took that as a sign to lower his hand, as Carter sighed and looked to be trying to figure out something to say. "Don't even think about going off on one, Phil. Not here."

"Well then," Phil re-iterated, "do ya mind if we take this into your office?"

As Shannon, Tray and Leroy all watched on in silence, Carter reluctantly signalled for Phil to step into his office. He did immediately, and made sure to push past Leroy on his way as well.

"Wish me luck." Carter spoke quietly to Shannon and Tray.

As soon as they were gone, Tray re-opened Zack's final and took a glimpse at his picture. "Ya know what?" He asked.

"Hm?" Shannon barely spoke.

"Now that I look at him closer, Zack kinda looks like - "

"No! Don't even go there, Tray." Shannon then said, this time speaking loud and clear, causing both Tray and Leroy to jump.

"What?" He wined in reply.

"Leroy's only just got here. Let's not scare him off." She spoke harshly, pausing after the words left her mouth. "Besides, we'd better get back to work. This case isn't going to solve itself."

Tray nodded in agreement, snapping the file shut and then walking over to his computer. Shannon went to mimic him, but turned back at the last minute and smiled at Leroy.

"I'm sure Captain will be with you in a minute, Leroy." She spoke softly, "But Tray and I really need to get back to work. Got a fresh new case with no leads that needs to be solved."

Then with that final statement, Shannon hastily went back to work. She scratched her head as she examined Zack's file for the first time, though much like everyone else who had looked at it, she was shooting blanks. But little did she or anyone else know, the very person who was responsible for causing so much heart break, was the same man who was currently standing in Captain Carter Brookes' office.

----

"Are you trying to screw me over?!"

Carter flinched slightly at the joint noise of Phil's eruptive voice and his fist slamming down hard onto the wooden desk.

"Phil, I'm not going to talk to you if you're acting like this."

Phil stood his ground for a couple of seconds, but then sighed, shook his head, and reluctantly sat down in the chair facing Carter and his desk. He fixed his eyes directly to his Captain's, waiting to see what he was going to say next. Carter on the other hand licked his lips and tried his best to gather his thoughts.

"Phil. I understand why you're upset – "

"Upset?! I work alone, Carter, you know what happened last time I worked a case with a partner!"

"Of course I know what happened, Phil, the whole freakin department knows, but you can't hold onto it forever!"

Phil scoffed and leapt up from his seat. He began to stomp towards the door but stopped himself from leaving. He found this situation too important to walk out on, no matter how angry he got.

"Look, Phil," Carter recommenced, also standing up by this point, "I'm not saying I know how you feel. What I am saying is that mistakes may have been made, but Officer Burns is not going to make those same mistakes. You need to start learning how to trust again, Phil, how to let people in. Without any trust or belief in your partners, you're not going to get anywhere in this business."

Carter waited for a split second to see if Phil was going to dignify him with a response, though he wasn't all that amazed when he didn't.

"I know it may take you some time to get used to this, Phil, but Leroy is here to stay. So, you _and_ Officer Burns can get back to work on your case. I want you to try and wrap it up as soon as possible so you can give Shannon and Tray a hand with this kidnapping that rang in this morning."

Phil's hand that had been reaching towards the door knob suddenly froze at the mention of the kidnapping. All of his thoughts and concerns of a new partner immediately diminished as images of Zack flowed into their place.

"And, Phil," Carter spoke as Phil turned to face him after being snapped out of his trance, "that's an order."

Phil flashed a cynical smile at his boss before spinning back around to open the door. He waited for the sound of the latch to click into place as he closed it, then just as he had been told, he walked over to where Leroy was waiting for him and the two of them started their work for the day. Although, after hearing the news of his evil little deed not only going public but being taken into the hands of Shannon Elliot and Tray Michaels – possibly the most reliant and successful partnership Boston's police force had to offer – the case he was working on instantly became the least of his worries.

* * *

**Yaz like? Comments? Questions? **

**REVIEWS maybe? I'm thinking 17 or so before you find out anything else that Phil has been up to. Please :) **

**Reneyyyyy x**


	7. Giving Up The Chase

**I know, it's been a while. But I'm back now :) I had the biggest assignment in the history of big assignments, but now with that out of the way I've got another chapter for yaz. **

**And by the way, I've decided to bump the rating up to M on this story. I hope yaz don't mind, but just let me know if there's any problems with it. Enjoy.**

* * *

Cody's eyes shot open and instantly began to dart around as the last of an icy cold sweat fell from his brow down the side of his face. Soon discovering that he was safe in the confines of his bedroom, his heart slowly began to beat at its normal pace again and all the ugly images that had moments ago filled his head started to disperse. Cody sighed and pushed his matted blonde hair back between his fingers.

_Just a dream…_

Cody sat up in bed and rubbed his dazed eyes. The second he moved his hands away from his face he was immediately blinded by the sunlight that streamed in through the window.

_Sunlight? _He thought to himself, _How long have I been asleep… oh yeah. Zack. _He pondered, prolonging the conversation with himself as all the memories from the fearful night he and Carey had endured flooded back into his mind. _That would explain my dream._

Gladly tossing the heavy covers off himself, Cody jumped out of bed and swung his door open. The sound of his entrance into the lounge room caused everyone who made up its contents to gawk up at him. There was his mum and dad, still unmoved from their position on the couch. Along with them was Keith, the police officer in charge of manning the phone in case Zack's kidnapper rang again, and much to Cody's surprise, also joining the group were London and Mr. Moesby.

"Hey baby." Carey said softly to Cody.

"Hi." Was his only reply. He was too busy scanning the faces of everyone else in the room to say anything more than that. Everybody was wearing the same expression - a deeply sympathetic look, as if it was going to make things better somehow.

"How are you feeling, Cody?" Carey spoke again, snapping Cody from his daydream.

"Tired. But ok." He answered as he walked over towards where Kurt was sitting on the arm of the couch. Kurt comfortingly rubbed Cody's arm and squeezed his shoulder, flashing him a brave smile.

"Tired?" Kurt asked, "Buddy, you've been sleeping for almost 8 hours."

Directing his attention slightly away from his dad, Cody shot his gaze at the clock that sat on the table and stared at it in disbelief. It read near enough 2p.m.

"I guess I just crashed out and time got away from me."

Abruptly dropping the conversation concerning the time, Cody reverted back to the discussion with himself as his mind finally managed to force forward a question that had been revolving through his subconscious ever since he had woken up.

"So.. I'm guessing you haven't heard anything? About Zack?"

A sudden joint sigh emitted in the room as Carey and Kurt shot their stares at each other while they tried to find the right words to answer Cody's question.

"No. No, not yet, Cody." Carey answered unwillingly.

"But no need to worry, Cody!" London suddenly yelped as a means of enlisting into conversation, "Daddy has already agreed to pay any ransom money that this crazy psycho might demand for Zack's safety!"

"London!" Everyone yelled in mutual annoyance at the heiress.

"What?" She wined in her defense. "That _is_ what he said."

"Well I'm sure it is London, but I'm also fairly certain that it's the last thing Cody wants to hear right now." Mr. Moesby butted in as he pulled himself off the couch and walked over to where Cody was standing. He placed both hands on each of Cody's shoulders and gave him a soft smile. "Now, Cody. I know you, Zack and I have had our differences over the past few years. What with you two running all through my hotel, disrupting my guests, yelling and screaming," at this point, Moesby released his grasp from Cody's shoulders and focussed his awareness somewhere up towards the ceiling as he gazed into a deep daydream, "ruining events, breaking priceless portraits, distracting my employees, trashing my lobby, denting my vents - "

"Mr. Moesby?" Cody interrupted, breaking Moesby's list of the twins wrong-doings.

"Hm?"

"You were saying?"

Moesby paused for a moment as he tried to re-gain his train of thought. "Ah yes, now I remember."

Everyone rolled their eyes at the hotel manager's lack of sincerity, though the second that Mr. Moesby summoned the condolences that he had previously been aiming to convey, his appearance turned into one that was severely solemn.

"But even so, if you ever need to talk to me, I'm here for you. As is London. Maddie's working a shift at the candy counter at the moment, but she asked me to let you know the same thing. Believe it or not, Cody, I do care about you and your brother."

Snapping his head up at the last part of Moesby's heart felt speech, Cody shook his head. "Well you obviously don't care enough to let Maddie off work to come up and say hi."

Everybody gasped simultaneously at Cody's rapidly gained spiteful tongue. Moesby's smile instantly dropped and he took a couple of slow steps backwards away from the teen's coercing glare.

"Cody!" Carey spoke, her voice raised slightly at her son.

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?"

"No." Moesby impulsively retorted on Carey's behalf. "I invited Maddie to join us but she insisted on declining as to not upset herself once returning to her shift because of her concern for you and Zack."

An awkward silence swept over the room as Cody inspected the new looks that had appeared on each person's face. Their features were still all very similar, but instead of shooting a sympathetic look Cody's way, their faces had now been twisted into an expression of angst. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels, Cody warily licked his lips and opened his mouth to break the silence.

"I'm going back to my room."

Unfortunately for him and his attempts, what Cody had come up with wasn't exactly what anyone was expecting him to say.

"Don't you want to stay out here with us in case anything happens?" Kurt asked, stopping Cody from the quick dash he was making for his and Zack's room. "We might be called out at anytime to go anywhere."

"I don't want to exhaust myself for school tomorrow." Cody sharply replied.

"School?" Carey asked, her tone in her voice representing the look on everyone else's face. "Sweetie, I rang your principal a little earlier this morning and explained everything. You don't have to go back into school until this is all over, everybody understands what we're all going through, Cody."

"I want to go to school." Cody spoke bluntly, syllable by syllable, making sure to add emphasis to the word 'want'. He took one final gaze at each person in the room, including Keith who was also casting him a concerning glance, before about facing and heading straight into his room, not giving another single word the chance to be uttered.

Cody took a deep breath as he leant against his bedroom door, calming himself down and letting all his frustrations escape him. He wasn't even really sure why he was getting so irritated at his family and friend's genuine attempts to make him feel better. As far as he was concerned, Cody was just handling the situation the same way Zack would. Not caring.

Cody cringed as his thoughts triggered the illustrations from his bad dream to reappear in his head. He shook his skull from side to side in an effort to try and erase the scenes once more. He turned on his TV, flicked through a couple of pages in one of his books, he even tried to strum a few notes on Zack's guitar. But nothing could wipe his memory clean of what he had dreamt no more than 10 minutes ago…

_Cody caught back his shortened breath as his eyes shot open and whizzed around in the darkness. He blinked once, twice, three times - but no matter how much more he tried the black sheet that covered… wherever he was, could not be removed._

"_Cody?"_

_Cody spun around and tried to locate where the voice he heard had come from. It may have been impossible to see, but he could tell full well who the voice belonged to._

"_Zack?" He questioned into the seemingly eternal darkness. "Zack, where are you?"_

_As the whole escapade began to seem completely helpless, Zack suddenly materialized in the shadows in front of Cody._

"_Zack." He spoke, his tone somewhat brighter._

_Cody walked towards where he could see his brother standing, but as he got closer, Zack faded further and further away. Cody stopped in his place and looked on at Zack with confusion clearly spread over his face. Zack smiled cynically at him._

"_Zack? What's going on, where are we?"_

"_Your mind, Cody." Zack replied, "And I'm really flattered that I'm the only thing in here, by the way."_

_Cody slowly began to shake his head. This wasn't happening, he told himself, there was no way that any of this was really possible._

"_You liar, we aren't in my mind." Cody snapped as he walked closer towards Zack, only to have him slip away again._

"_Ok, so maybe it's not your actual mind, but it's a pretty good representation if you ask me."_

"_What do you mean?" Cody asked defensively, still trying his hardest to come into closer contact with his brother._

"_Well, I'm the only one here. But I'm slipping further away from you, aren't I?"_

_Cody remained silent. Zack laughed at his younger brother's hasty withdrawal from conversation. "Give up, Cody." He then spoke harshly. "If you're not willing to chase me, then you're not going to get me back."_

_Cody felt his face burn up under the unkind pressure that came with the words Zack was speaking to him. None of it was true, he thought._

"_I am willing to keep up the chase." Cody said softly, his voice straining from the emotional outburst he was trying his absolute hardest to hold back._

"_The why aren't you?" Zack retorted, "Hiding away and acting cold to everyone around you isn't going to help find me."_

"_Why do you care anyway?"_

_Zack chuckled to himself again. "Exactly. For all you know, I might already be gone."_

_Before Cody could even possibly dignify that with a reply, the only light that was filling the room - Zack - disappeared. There was a loud thud and then a scream. Zack's scream. Cody jumped almost right out of his skin at the sound of his brother's cry._

"_Zack?!" He yelled. But there was no reply. The only thing that could then be heard was the reduced breaths that came with every one of Zack's choking cries…_

Cody shook the noises right out of his brain and clapped his eyes tightly shut, collapsing back onto his bed and trying his hardest to revert his concentration away from the one thing he didn't want to think about.

_Zack hates me._

----

Zack jumped and lifted his body up to the edge of the bed as he heard the front door slam shut. He had totally lost track of the time. The sun was just beginning to set behind the many tall buildings of Boston, so Zack knew that he had obviously been abandoned for the entire day. But now Phil was back, so he assumed, and yet another confrontation was bound to come his way at any moment.

Zack felt his heart begin to race and pound heavily inside of his chest. He gripped tighter onto the soft fabric of the bed spread that had been his very own 'Blankie' for the time that he had been kept away from his family. He was breathing fast and heavily as he waited anxiously for Phil's grand entrance. And then it came.

Zack gawked up wide-eyed at Phil as he stood silently in the doorway. He let his breathing slow down and he swallowed the fear that he could feel building up in his throat. He wasn't going to let Phil see that he was scared. The eerie silence continued to stretch out for a little bit longer, until Zack saw Phil emit a sigh and hold forward a small sized pizza box towards him.

"Food." He spoke simply. Phil then threw the cardboard box on the floor at Zack's feet.

Not taking any notice of this whatsoever, Zack's vision remained fixed on the clearly visible gap in the bedroom door.

"Don't even think about it." Phil spoke sharply, definitely gaining Zack's attention as he snapped his head up. "You're not going anyway. And with an eye as black as that you'd be pretty stupid to try and attempt something like that again, now wouldn't you?"

Zack instantly looked away from the insulting creep that stood before him. All his life Zack had no choice but to constantly hear of how much smarter Cody was than him, how much more reliable he was, responsible, courteous, considerable. That and the many times that he had been called stupid just in general. All the put-downs and slurs that Phil was shooting at him were definitely the last thing Zack wanted to hear at that moment.

"Now is there anything else too difficult for you to comprehend that you need me to explain?"

Zack slid back into reality at the sound of Phil's voice. He directed his angry gaze back up at his kidnapper and perhaps through one moment of possible insanity, he felt his tongue immediately sharpen.

"Yeah, actually there is. When are you gonna let me go so I can go back to my _normal_ life with _normal _people?"

Almost instantly regretting letting the ruthless words escape his lips, Zack gulped and froze up as Phil ripped him off the bed by his collar. As the vile stench of Phil's breath seeped across Zack's senses, he stared intently at the floor below him in an effort to avoid the extremely close contact that his captor was making with him. Phil leant in, anger obvious in his whole existence, and cleared his throat loudly in Zack's ear.

"Listen here you little prick. I have had a _really_ shit day. So if you're looking for a punch in the mouth, you're definitely going the right way about it."

Zack started to shake slightly under the immense pressure that Phil's threatening words were holding over him.

"You're not going anywhere Zack, and it's time for you to start getting used to that. The only place you are going is anywhere I go, and I'm not about ready for _you _to start calling the shots."

With that said, Phil shoved Zack back onto the bed and left without speaking another word. Zack let out the long, heavy breath that he had been holding in since the second Phil had grabbed him. This man was becoming less and less easier for Zack to understand. He was feeding him, which openly showed that he didn't want to neglect the growing boy's needs, but at the same time, as soon as the wrong thing was said, Phil would snap and scare Zack with harsh physical violence.

Worse still, with day one almost at a close, Zack suddenly felt the whole ordeal skyrocket at a length that he feared deeply. The intensity of everything was slowly growing, and Zack was beginning to lose control of any piece of calmness that he had so desperately been hanging onto. It was becoming clear to him that things weren't just going to fix themselves, and as far as Zack could figure, the only hope he had left to cling to was to not let Phil snatch away all jurisdiction he had of himself. And that started with choosing not to eat the pizza he had so generously been given.

Zack scoffed and immaturely kicked the box, though as soon as the delectable smell leaked out and filled the room, his mind helplessly began to sway away from his initial decision.

"He had to tempt me with pepperoni."

* * *

**Another chapter done. Yay.**

**Yaz like it? Lemme know in the reviews, I definitely want to break 20 before I update again. I know, it's a small goal, but that makes it better for you guys! Thankies :)**

**Reneyyyyyy x**


	8. Empty Feelings

**Sorry it's been a while. Half yearly exams -_- So not cool. Anways, with them out of the way, here's my latest update. It is mainly about Cody, and I get that yaz probably want to know what's going on with Zack and everything, but he will have his time to shine. Don't worry about that. I just wanted to have this chapter to show yaz how Cody's day at school goes, and if he has any canges about his feelings towards the whole kidnapping siuation. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Maddie jumped at the sudden thud caused by Cody's bedroom door closing as he entered the lounge room. A smile subtly appeared on her face at the sight of his sleepy eyes and bed hair, though it soon faded as she realised this was the first time she had seen or spoken to him since Zack vanished.

"Cody!" Maddie exclaimed, trying to sound cheerful, "Good - " she paused as she checked her watch to make sure it was in fact still morning. 11:48. Just.

" - morning!"

"Where's my mum?" Cody cut in sharply. Maddie shot him a concerned gaze at the irritation that was lodged in his voice.

"She went out with your dad to talk to the… police." She cringed as the last word left her lips. "Why do you ask?"

"I told her I wanted to go to school." Cody spat again. He ripped his school bag out of the coat closet and hastily began shoving his books into it. "But, no, she didn't want me to!"

"She told me to let you sleep in, Cody." Maddie interjected, "Wouldn't you rather stay home and just relax a little bit?"

"No." Cody barked in reply, "I want to go to school." The tone of frustration in Cody's expression was increasingly becoming more obvious, and as he slung his bag angrily over his shoulder and headed towards the door, Maddie herself was becoming increasingly unaware of how to continually handle the situation.

"Cody, please," she started, "your mum left me in charge while she and your dad are gone, and she's gonna kill me if she finds out I let you go to school. Think about her. Think about Zack."

Cody impulsively stopped at the mention of Zack's name and halted on the spot. With the mood he was in at that moment, his brother was the last thing he wanted to think about.

_Zack hates me._

He then turned around and cleared his throat as Maddie looked on, unsure of what he was about to do or say next.

"Zack's life is the one on hold, not mine."

Then with that bitter statement left to linger in the tense filled air of the suite, and Maddie abandoned with all kind of confused thoughts racing through her mind, Cody impatiently pulled the front door open and made sure to slam it behind him as he left.

----

It was about 12:15p.m. as Cody approached the front desk of Cheevers High School's administration office. Although this meant it was almost lunch time, there were still a good fifteen minutes of 5th period remaining. Besides, he thought, he had already spent the whole previous day off school. Nothing was going to make him miss anymore of it.

"I'd like to sign in." Cody said to the lady sitting at the desk. She smiled at him and handed him a pen as he skimmed down the list of the other partially absent students before finding a blank spot for his name.

**Name: **Cody Martin

**Grade: **10

**Reason of Partial Absence:**

Cody took an abrupt pause for a second as he tried to decide what to write. _'Mum wouldn't let me leave the suite because my brother's been kidnapped'_.

He shook his head and breathed out as this cynical excuse left his mind, then putting pen to paper, wrote the only other thing he could think of.

**Reason of Partial Absence: **Slept in.

After signing his name at the bottom of the sheet, Cody then handed the pen back to the lady. She quickly shuffled through a few papers on her desk before fishing out a small pink slip that she wrote a couple of things on and then handed to Cody.

"Ok, Cody," she began, "you just need to get the principal to sign this late slip for you and then you can go to class."

Taking the paper, Cody looked up and smiled. "Thank you."

As Cody headed towards Principal Miletitch's office, the smile dropped from his face. Lots of different people would say that chilling out in front of the TV or listening to music was their way of relaxing, but school was the one place where Cody could totally let go and just concentrate on something he loved. But that didn't mean that he was particularly in the mood to talk to Principal Miletitch about birds or nature or the properties of crunchy and smooth peanut butter. All he wanted to do was get her to sign the slip so he could go to class, although as he stepped through the open door of her office and caught one glimpse of the shocked look on her face, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get away that swiftly.

"Cody?" She spoke with as much surprise in her voice as was on her face, "I... didn't think you'd be coming in today."

Avoiding the comment, Cody projected forward the pink piece of paper. "Can you sign this for me, please?"

With the same amount of concern as Maddie had shown no more than half an hour earlier, Principal Miletitch did so and then handed the slip back to Cody who folded it and put it in his pocket. "Thanks." He uttered.

"Cody," Principal Miletitch then recommenced, "are you ok?"

"Yeah." Cody replied in an instant, "Why wouldn't I be?"

_Idiot. _He thought to himself as the window of opportunity for Principal Miletitch to ask more questions flew wide open. She smiled at him softly, proud of what she assumed was pure braveness towards all he was going through.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" She asked genuinely.

"No. Uh… no thanks." He reiterated, "I'd just like to go to class."

"Ok. Well if you decide you want to talk, don't hesitate to come and see me." Principal Miletitch replied, the comforting smile still spread widely across her face. "Shut the door behind you, please."

Doing as he was told, Cody gently shut the door and then began his walk out of the office and up the hallway to his English class.

As he approached the door to his classroom, Cody took a deep breath. If the principal had reacted that anxiously to his unexpected appearance, he could only just imagine the kind of reception he'd receive from his classmates.

Cody reached for the door handle, but he quickly withdrew. Maybe he wasn't ready for this. For any of it. For being hounded by his friend's constant questions. For moving on with his life without Zack.

He shook his head the instant that this last thought crossed his mind.

_Zack hates me._

With that certainty back in his head, Cody then confidently knocked on the door and swung it open. An abrupt hush immediately swept the room as he made his entrance. Pens dropped to the table as mouths dropped wide open. Miss Roberts had stopped writing on the blackboard as soon as she had heard the door open, and the second her eyes cast onto the image of Cody standing in the doorway, it only gave her more reason to do so.

"C-Cody?" The word that came softly from her lips spoke loud enough for the look that lay on all the kids faces, "I didn't expect to see -" She paused as she realised what she was saying, "- I mean, how nice for you to join us today."

A few whispers suddenly erupted throughout the classroom. Miss Roberts turned her attention away from Cody and tried to regain the calmness that had filled the room before his arrival. "Come on everyone!" She exclaimed. Cody took a couple more steps forward.

"Sorry Miss." He said, "I have a note for being late."

"That's alright, Cody, really. I'll read it later." She replied, taking the slip with her somewhat shaky hand. "Just take your seat. We're discussing poetry."

Shrugging his shoulders, Cody did as he had been asked and hastily walked towards his desk, passing Bob's on the way.

"Hey man." Bob spoke sounding a little stunned as he and Cody punched knuckles. "You ok?"

"Fine." Cody retorted in reply.

Without saying another word Cody then took out his books and the lesson continued. He sat slumped in his chair, an unusual posture for him, as Cody tried his hardest to listen to the facts being fed to him about some poet long dead, though his mind couldn't help but wander. He lost himself in his thoughts while his eyes flew all around the room. The sun was shining brightly as it streamed in through the window of the classroom.

_How ironic, _Cody thought to himself, _the sun shouldn't be shining this bright with everything that's happening to Za - wait, no. Stop thinking about him!_

Snapping his head away from the window, Cody turned his attention to the opposite side of the room in an attempt to change his train of thought. Although, the fact that the first thing his eyes came into contact with was Zack's empty desk didn't particularly help.

Cody sighed as it seemed his vision couldn't be turned away from the blank space immediately diagonal from him. Zack had always brought something special to the classroom. That something special may have been pointless class clown antics, but his presence was still very much appreciated throughout the rest of the kids in class. Now the empty spot in the seat only complimented the empty spot in the entire feeling of the room.

_Snap out of it, Cody! _He then cursed himself as he collapsed his head on the desk, _Think of something else. Anything else… my test! Maybe Miss Roberts will let me take the test again so I can get a real mark, instead of the one that Zack - argh!_

Suddenly, the bell echoed throughout the school, causing Cody to spring his head up from his desk as he sighed in relief. It was lunch time now, so luckily there would be plenty of other things for Cody to concentrate on rather than Zack. Hopefully.

"Ok class," Miss Roberts started conclusively, "please read pages 72 through to 77 of your text books before our next lesson. Thank you, you're all dismissed."

Instantly following this came the hectic hustle and bustle of all the impatient teenagers dashing out to lunch. Cody slowly rose from his seat after he had packed his un-opened books back into his bag and then began to drag his feet out of the room at a similar pace. The last 10 or so minutes of that period had flown by a lot faster than he thought, however, Cody secretly hoped that the rest of the day wouldn't follow suit. The last thing he felt like was returning to the events of everything at home.

"Cody, may I talk to you for a minute please?"

Impulsively being snapped out of his daydream, Cody spun around and gazed at Miss Roberts while she sat at her desk. Then, without saying a single word, he strolled over and waited in silent hope that she wouldn't bring up Zack.

"How are you feeling?" She asked with a smile.

"Ok." Cody replied. He was sick to death of answering that question.

"That's good." Miss Roberts spoke again, "Well, I won't keep you, I just wanted to tell you that you will have the opportunity to take your final for English again whenever you're ready."

"I can do it tomorrow." Cody responded almost instantly, "I'll be at school again tomorrow, too."

"Alright then, tomorrow it is."

Falling into a bit of an awkward pause, Miss Roberts then seemed to hesitate for a moment before she opened her mouth to speak again. "Is there anything else you'd like to speak about, Cody?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "No. No thanks. I'm fine."

"Ok." Miss Roberts said in response, "Just know that if there's anything you ever wanna talk about - "

"I know, I know." Cody cut in, "You'll be here."

Then before the English teacher had the chance to say another word, Cody turned back around and made a hasty exit out of the room. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if the day was to come to a rapid end after all.

----

"What do you mean he's here?"

Bob held his hands up at Max's accusing sounding question.

"I mean exactly what I said." He replied from across the lunch table, "He's here at school. He walked in towards the end of English. It's like nothing ever happened to Zack."

The tone of Bob's voice shrunk done to almost none as he spoke the last sentence. All of the twins' friends had been hit hard by everything that was going on, and as if their own worries hadn't been enough to upset them before, now according to Bob it seemed that Cody wasn't even mourning Zack's disappearance in a constructive or healthy way.

"Well why the heck would he feel like that anyway?" Max asked again.

"Yeah," Tapeworm chimed in, "it's his twin brother for crying out loud!"

"Maybe there's something else bothering him about it that he's just not telling anyone." Barbara said. There were a few nods of agreement around the table as she spoke, after all, Barbara was the one who knew Cody best out of everyone, besides Zack of course. "We've just gotta find a way to snap him out of it."

It was then that the image of Cody appeared from the other side of the cafeteria. He was walking towards the stack of trays when Bob spotted him and pointed him out to the others.

"Oh, I'll find a way to snap him out of it." Max said as she got out of her seat. Quickly being followed by Bob, Barbara and Tapeworm, the four friends all made their approach to where Cody was caught in the middle of a serious decision between chicken or fish for lunch.

"What is your problem?" Max blurted out, her arms folded across her chest.

"Max?" Cody asked innocently, "What are you talk- "

"Oh great." Bob suddenly interjected, "Here comes trouble."

The four sets of eyes all followed the direction that Bob was gesturing towards, and almost simultaneously, all their jaws dropped at the picture of the group of kids headed straight towards them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't clone two."

Cody and his friends all looked on wide eyed at the Drew Crew as they surrounded them in an obvious bullying fashion.

"Where's clone one today?" Drew asked, "Oh, wait, that's right. He got snatched up off the street." The rest of the crew all began laughing sarcastically as Drew began to rake in the humorous support of everyone else who was in ear shot. "Man, I always knew your brother was stupid, but not _this_ stupid."

"Back off Drew!" Tapeworm suddenly erupted.

"Yeah!" Bob agreed, "Don't you think Cody's been through enough already?"

Cody then swiftly shot his head up and whirled around to face his friends. "I've got this, guys!" He unexpectedly spat, "I don't need your help."

Taken back by the harsh comment from Cody, Bob and Tapeworm withdrew themselves from conversation, while Max and Barbara on the other hand, looked on in even more shock than before.

"Good move, Martin." Drew then spoke again, spinning Cody back around by the shoulder, "If you're going to involve any of your friends they might get hurt just as much, got it?"

Reverting back to his silent ways, Cody simply nodded his head. He didn't want to even try and fight back. Not now. Whenever he did, Zack was always the one by his side sticking up for him. But not now.

"Good." Drew barked. "I'll be seeing you later, Martin."

And then, thankfully, the Drew Crew was gone, though their taunting laughter could still be heard all about the cafeteria. The two girls sighed as their attention switched between the bullies, Bob and Tapeworm, and finally Cody.

"Cody," Barbara bravely started, reaching for his arm, "we just wanna be here for you."

Angrily ripping his arm away at that comment, Cody looked up and Barbara and shot her a livid glare.

"What, you mean like how you were there for me when you flew straight into Bob's arms after our breakup?" He said cruelly as his fuming eyes stared directly into the hurt expression that had taken over hers.

"Again," Max recommenced, this time sounding a lot more irritated, "what is your problem?"

Max then stood her ground, waiting for a snap insult to burst unkindly from Cody. But this time, much to the surprise of everyone, there wasn't one. Cody remained with his head down, thinking.

_What's my problem? Well that's easy. _He thought, _Zack hates me._

He reluctantly pulled his head back up and gazed at the eyes of his friends that all gawked anxiously at him.

"Just leave me alone."

Then with that quietly said, Cody dumped his food tray on the closest table and gradually walked away from his friends, the only people who he thought were going to be able to make him feel better, but instead only ended up drawing his feelings closer to the one person he couldn't handle thinking about.

* * *

**Hope yaz liked it. I'll try to update a little faster from now on. Lemme know what yaz think, 4 maybe 5 more reviews? Thankies :)**

**Reneyyyyyyy x**


	9. Time For Plan B

**Told ya I'd update quicker :) Thankies to everyone who's been reviewing by the way. Enjoy!**

* * *

A loud thump echoed over the bonnet of the car as the head of a built young man was slammed down onto the vehicle while Phil cuffed his hands together behind his back. Gathering his strength, Phil then hoisted the man up off the car and waited for Leroy to open the back seat door.

"Ya see," Phil began, talking menacingly into the crook's ear, "this is what happens when we're able to find you after you leave you sick bodily fluids in the body of a young girl."

The felon snarled and cursed under his breath at Phil before he was violently shoved into the back seat of the police car. "Get him out of here." Phil concluded with a sneer.

"That's nice work, Phil." Captain Carter praised once the car had left. He turned around from where he had been observing the arrest and shot Leroy a similar look of admiration. "You too Burns, you really know how to handle a case."

Leroy smiled in pride. "Just all part of the job, Captain."

Phil scoffed as he took a seat in his car and stuck his key in the ignition. Just because he and Leroy may have made a better team than he first expected, didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Go straight back to the station, Phil." Carter spoke, snapping Phil from his trance, "I want the both of you to look into one other thing before the day's out."

"Is it something about that kidnapping that Shannon and Tray are working on?"

Phil froze the instant that this question left Leroy's lips. Subtly turning his head to face his Captain outside the window of his car, he awaited a response, silently holding his breath in hope that his plans hadn't been scuppered.

"Yeah, it is." Carter spoke simply, "Someone's responded to the Amber Alert we have on the kid. They think he may have been spotted."

Phil's vision fixed back to the front wind shield of his car. A faint smile appeared across his mouth at the realisation that he was still in business - there was no way Zack could've been recognised as he had not yet left Phil's apartment. He was still in the clear. For now.

"You got that Phil?" Phil snapped his head back around as Carter's voice derailed his train of thought.

"Yeah, yeah, back to the station. I got it, Captain."

"You want me to ride with you, Phil?" Leroy asked. Shooting him an arrogant glare, Phil merely shook his head in response, then sped off in his car towards the Boston Police Station.

Leroy watched the car tear up the road at its swift pace in disbelief. Admittedly, he did hold a glimmer of desire that he and Phil may have been able to get along better after such success in solving their case, but following what had just happened, it didn't seem to Leroy that they were going to be getting on in any way shape or form for some time still to come.

"Phil'll warm to you eventually." Carter spoke with confidence, "You just gotta give him a reason to." Leroy nodded his head. Maybe there was something else he could do to show Phil that he could trust him as a partner, because he feared that if their current bond were to stay at the same scale it was at now, their success rate could vastly fall in the future.

"Come on, Burns, hop in my car."

----

"Damn it!"

Shannon slammed the phone back down onto the receiver and cradled her head in her hands for about five seconds before she drew a big red line through some notes she had written in Zack's file.

"What's up?" Tray asked her, taking a seat on her mess covered desk.

"False alarm." She replied half-heartedly, "Dopey bloody woman got it wrong. Zack's still nowhere to be seen."

"Please don't tell me I just heard what I think I did?"

Shannon and Tray both looked up instantaneously as Carter's booming voice entered the office, closely followed by Phil and Leroy.

"Yeah, I'm afraid you did." Tray answered.

"We're back to square one." Shannon added, throwing her pen across the desk in annoyance.

"Right then," Carter recommenced towards Shannon and Tray, sounding just as irritated, "you two go back to the Tipton and ask more people more questions. I don't care if you have to interview the same people ten times over - get me something else to work with, got it?"

"Got it." The two officers spoke in unison. Shannon immediately then went to grab her car keys off the desk, but was beaten to it by Tray.

"Hey! My car - I drive."

"Not when you're as irritable as you are now." He replied playfully as he pocketed the keys, "All I'll have to do is say one thing wrong and you'll purposely veer us into a tree."

Shannon let out a huge laugh as she mimicked Tray's footsteps towards the great, glass double doors that lay at the end of the corridor.

"The saddest thing about that, Michaels, is that it's pretty much the most intelligent thing to ever come out your mouth!"

The pair continued laughing and shooting snipes at each other until their voices could no longer be heard echoing up the hallway. Leroy smirked and let out a small chuckle at the duo's typical interaction, while Phil on the other hand shook his head at what he considered to be nothing but unprofessional behaviour.

"Believe it or not," Carter then spoke, mainly in direction to Leroy, "they will actually get the job done."

Leroy laughed quietly to himself again while Carter slipped back into his serious persona and busily began flipping through the few pages that was Zack's police file, most likely trying to find something for Phil and Leroy to dedicate their time to.

Carter didn't understand. Normally cases like this presented some kind of evidence, even if it were the tiniest bit possible, but this particular occurrence held nothing like that at all. Nobody that they knew of even had the intent to take Zack. It seemed almost impossible.

"Ah, forget it." Carter spat, throwing the file down onto the desk, "There's nothing else that can be done, not this this evening anyway. The two of you just go home, take a break. Hopefully Shannon and Tray can dig something up at the Tipton."

"Well you don't have to tell me twice." Phil spoke cynically, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

Then with that as the only means of a goodbye, Phil then threw his jacket over his shoulder and left the station. Leroy's eyes followed Phil out of the room. He was quickly becoming very sick of constantly having to attempt to try and figure Phil out. Fair enough it may have only been their second day on the job together, but Phil was definitely still showing no signs of giving him a chance anytime soon. Then he remembered what Carter had said to him no more than half an hour ago - Phil would only warm to him if he gave him a reason to.

"Hey, Captain?"

"Burns?" Carter replied.

"What's Phil's address?" Carter's eyes widened at the question from Leroy, "I think I wanna stop round there for a bit. Have a coffee or something."

"You sure about that?" Carter asked, sounding extremely tedious.

"Why not? I just want to show him that I can be trusted, not like whatever it was that happened with his last team mate."

Carter hesitated for a moment. There was no doubt that Leroy was a smart kid - he could tell when he was getting in too deep into any situation, but at the same time the captain also knew Phil and had for a long time. He was not the kind of person, especially nowadays, who anyone wanted to upset.

"Alright, fine." Carter said as he wrote down the address and handed it to Leroy, "If you're sure."

"I am."

Carter nodded. "Is your car here?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's here." Leroy responded as he headed towards the door, "I didn't take it with me this morning. Phil was in a rush so we both went in his car."

The two nodded to each other once more before Leroy strode out the door and hopped into his car. He turned on the engine and adjusted his mirrors, Carter's words flying through his head over and over again. 'You sure about that', he had asked him, like Phil was dangerous or someone to be feared.

_What's the worst that could happen? _Came Leroy's next thought. Then without any time to say, let alone think anything else, he was off, and on his way to Phil's apartment - no idea about anything that he was possibly about to discover.

----

Phil swung open the front door to his apartment and groaned. It had been a long day, undoubtedly, and the fact that he had felt the panic of his nice, neat little plan potentially unravelling before him certainly didn't help. He wasn't even in the mood to talk to or deal with Zack.

Sighing, he hung his jacket over the back of his arm chair and switched on the T.V. Sitcoms. Typical. And what was typical still, if that were even possible, was the lack of food in the fridge but the curious amount of alcohol that was present. Maybe it was going to be a good night after all.

Phil smiled at the mass sum of booze staring back at him from the fridge before he took out a can and cracked it open. After he took an above average sized gulp, he set the can down to one side and then took off his belt, placing his gun on the side, too.

Just as he was beginning to feel more than happy to take another swig of his drink, Phil was abruptly interrupted by footsteps coming from the next room. Zack must have been up and about. Supposing he should go in and check on him, Phil reluctantly started walking towards the bedroom door. He reached forward and grabbed onto the brass door knob, seconds away from turning it and letting himself in when he was unexpectedly disturbed again. But not from anyone or anything inside his apartment.

Phil froze and felt a single cold drop of sweat fall from his face. He turned around and faced his front door, three more quiet knocks coming from it. Someone was here.

Snapping himself out of his mind blank, Phil shook off his surprise and slowly inched towards the door. Maybe it was just a mistake - someone had the wrong flat. Yeah, he told himself, that had to be it. As long as it wasn't Shannon or Tray.

The moment Phil opened the door, the surprised look instantly spread across his face once more. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The colour drained from Leroy's face at the booming sound of Phil's voice. "I, uh… just wanted to stop by and say hi. Maybe have a coffee… or something?"

"No!"

Guessing he should take that as a definite 'not going to happen', Leroy directed his vision to the floor and then little by little began to turn away from Phil and his home. "Oh." He said, "Ok, I guess I'll see you - "

Cutting into Leroy's effort to complete his sentence, an impulsive thumping suddenly erupted from the bedroom door at the opposite end of the apartment. Both men jumped and gawked in the direction of the noise - Phil's eyes wide with anger, Leroy's with pure concern.

"What's that?" He asked accusingly, "Who's in there?"

"No-one, just leave!" Phil answered, perhaps a little too quickly, as he tried to close the door on Leroy, only to have him put his foot in the way.

"It doesn't sound like no-one."

"My dog!" Phil responded again, thinking on his feet, "Will you please just go?"

Not giving Leroy another chance to contradict anything he was saying, Phil eventually managed to get his door closed and locked. He sighed in immense relief, and then shot his glare back towards the door keeping Zack in the confines of the small bedroom. It was unquestionably time for a new plan.

-

Zack sat on the bed quietly, thinking. Should he really have just done that? He had simply acted on impulse - he heard another voice and thought that he may have had the opportunity to be rescued if he made enough noise. But that was a few minutes ago now, and the extra voice was gone. Not only that, but Phil wasn't exactly going to be happy.

Jerking slightly and the sound of the lock clicking and the door opening, Zack broke free from his trance and waited nervously to find out exactly what kind of mood he had possibly put his captor in.

"Get up." Was all Phil said at first, "Did you really think your little plan was going to work?"

Zack paused for a moment. The last time he had upset Phil, he had taken all of his anger out physically on Zack, but this time, even though all of his plans had almost been ruined, he seemed as serene as can be.

"Did it?"

Phil barked out a laugh. Zack was definitely a brave and daring kid, but in Phil's many years as a cop and all he had lived through, he had also learnt that sometimes bravery got you nowhere.

Swinging his arm back, Phil forcefully back handed Zack right in the mouth, busting his lip open and causing small amounts of blood to fly onto the cover of the bed.

"We're leaving." He then spoke, flexing the muscles in his hand after the brutal contact with Zack's face.

Zack stopped where he stood and gasped, the pain throbbing in his mouth and the blood slowly beginning to flow at a more swift rate. "Leave? What do you mean leave?"

Phil laughed tauntingly again. "I mean," he reiterated, grabbing Zack's arm and yanking him out of the bedroom, "_we're leaving_."

Phil pushed Zack onto the couch and quickly began to gather a few things together, including his wallet which fell open onto the floor revealing the last thing he wanted Zack to see.

Zack stared amazed at the shining gold badge that gazed back at him from the floor. "Dude, you're a cop!" He stated, more than asked.

"Very well spotted, Zack." Phil reacted sarcastically as he picked up his wallet and shoved it deep into the depths of his pocket.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Zack then spoke again, "You're going to get found out, ya know. Eventually you will. I'm not going anywhere!"

Phil sniggered yet again and smiled at Zack, almost admiringly, before he reached behind himself for something else to show him. "That's quite a bold thing to say, Zack. But you've obviously forgotten something else that cops carry around with them."

Zack gulped and immediately withdrew at the sight of the black reflective gun being pointed at him. _So, _he thought to himself, _that's the kind of mood he's in._

"Now, Zack, here's what's going to happen." Phil started threateningly, "Lucky for us, it's getting dark outside, so seeing that this apartment is right next to the back door fire exit, your going to walk out that door and hop into the back seat of my car. You're going to lie down and cover yourself with the blanket that I've put back there. And then, we're leaving. Got it?"

Soon finding that his voice had escaped him from the fear, Zack simply nodded his head.

"Good. Let's go."

-

The world outside the small apartment seemed almost unreal to Zack. After everything he had been through so far, he was beginning to find it hard to believe that anything was normal anymore.

As he and his captor rounded the corner, Zack saw the back door open and Phil's car sitting directly outside it. There had to be somewhere for him to run, Zack thought. There was no-one else around in the block of apartments to see him, but surely there had to be someone outside. He could easily get away, run up the street or into someone's house, though as soon as he heard Phil cock the gun from behind him, he soon remembered why running was certainly out of the question.

"Alright, Zack." Phil spoke, spinning Zack around and pointing the gun straight at him, "Just go to the car and do what I said. Coz if you don't," Zack swallowed fretfully again as Phil raised the gun closer towards his face, "your last meal will be the searing taste of hot lead. Ok?"

Zack nodded, his eyesight not leaving the gun. This was it, his life hung in the balance, and as he stared down the barrel of the gun and saw all the images from his 15 years fly by, it was the few major details that made him instantly do as he had been told. His friends, his family - his brother. They were all the reasons why he climbed into the back seat and covered himself with the blanket, remaining completely still there after. And as the car engine started and he felt the vehicle roll out of the driveway and up the street, they were the last people he saw before his mind uncontrollably wandered to the thoughts of what may or may not lay his path when he and Phil finally reached their destination. Wherever that was.

----

Leroy sat in his seat, impatiently tapping the steering wheel in time with the music humming from the radio.

"Bloody red lights." He spoke to himself, "No wonder so many people drive straight through them."

While Leroy prolonged to ponder this thought, he noticed another car subtly roll up to the intersection before taking a left. But it wasn't just any car. He could recognise this particular vehicle from a mile away.

"Phil?" He spoke aloud again, "Where's he speeding off to?"

Almost immediately after this question left Leroy's lips, his mind clicked and his eyes amplified in size. As the traffic lights suddenly turned green, Leroy drove ahead, made a u-turn and then headed back in the direction of Phil's apartment.

-

If his curiosity hadn't been at a high enough level before, it definitely increased for Leroy as he found that the front door to Phil's had been left ajar. He peered in and gazed around the room. It had been left just how he remembered it, although this time, the door to the bedroom had been left open too.

He entered the small room and began to look around. He promised himself that he wasn't going to be long. Not only did he not have a search warrant, but Phil could also arrive back at any moment. That's when he saw it.

Dripped plainly over the doona that was on the bed were distinct traces of blood. Leroy gasped at the sight of it. He knew Phil was up to no good, but there was still no telling what 'it' exactly was. He continued looking around the room, in the hope to find anything else that could explain how or why the blood had got there. It was then that the picture of the boy we knew as Daniel came into his vision.

There was about a two second pause as Leroy allowed his mind to comprehend this. That was all it took.

Leroy then ripped his phone out of his pocket and rapidly dialled the police station's number. He just prayed that he wasn't too late.

"Captain, call Shannon and Tray. You need to get to Phil's - now."

* * *

**Ya like it? Not sure if I did or not :/ Anyway, I wouldn't mind breaking 30 before I update again, but we'll just see how we go. Thanks guys :)**

**Reneyyyyyyyyyy x.**


	10. Fix You

**Alritey guys, thankies to everyone who reviewed my last chapter :) This one is definitely my favourite so far, so lemme know what yaz think. And, yeah, I figured I'd throw a bit of a song fic in there too so tell me if yaz like that as well. Enjoy.**

* * *

In no more than ten minutes, the empty sanctuary that was Phil's apartment exploded into a crowded and hectic police scene - one of the likes that many of the esteemed officers hadn't witnessed for a long time. The quiet bedroom that Leroy had walked in on was now filled with forensic officers looking for any evidence proving that Zack had in fact been there at one stage or another. But evidence or not, Leroy was already convinced that this case was done and dusted.

"I cannot believe that I let him get away like that!" Leroy shouted for about the fourth time that evening, "Why did nobody think of this in the first place? It seems so simple now."

"Well actually," Tray interjected smugly, "as soon as I saw Zack's picture I said that he resembled - "

"Shut up, Tray." Shannon spoke, countering the interruption, "Nobody likes a show off."

Tray turned around to find Shannon and Carter standing behind him in the doorway to the bedroom and smiled conceitedly.

"You're just jealous that you didn't figure it out first."

"Figured out what exactly?" Carter suddenly cut in, "We're here to search for some hard evidence, not to jump to conclusions."

"Jump to conclusions?" Leroy then asked, as he near enough jumped right off the couch, "Captain, you should've seen how desperate Phil was to keep me out of the whole apartment, let alone the bedroom. And now he's taken off, nowhere to be found, not to mention a perfectly good explanation of intent. Put two and two together!"

"And then what, Burns?!" Carter retorted, "Assume we've made four?"

Leroy quickly withdrew after this sharp contradiction from his boss. "Well, what else do you want?" He asked more calmly.

"Until we can talk to Phil, what I want," Carter began, "is unquestionable DNA proof that Zack Martin has been in this room."

Leroy rolled his eyes at what he saw as impossible demands from Carter. "But Zack has more or less disappeared off the face of the earth. There's no way we can match his DNA to anything."

The second that this statement left Leroy's lips, another smile impulsively grew across Tray's face. He slapped his hands together and then playfully nudged Shannon. "Maybe not." He spoke enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about?" Shannon asked, her tone quite the opposite to her partner's, as she watched him hastily enter the bedroom.

"Hey, Elle?" Tray spoke upon his entrance to the room, "You got that blood sample off the bed spread?"

The forensic officer holding a plastic zip bag turned around to face Tray, "Right here." she said, projecting the bag forward to reveal a small blood covered snippet of the bed spread sitting inside it.

Tray beamed at his own genius again, before pulling his mobile phone out of his pocket, "Keep a hold of it."

With that sternly said, Tray then re-entered the apartment's lounge room as the dial tone began to echo down his phone. After four rings, it was finally answered.

"Hello?"

Tray grinned with great pride in himself at the sound of Cody's voice at the other end of the phone, "Hi, Cody, it's officer Michaels."

"Oh, hi." Cody replied.

"Hey, quick question for you, buddy."

Tray instinctively looked up as he heard Shannon join him where he stood in the centre of the lounge room. Her expression was still one of large intrigue while she impatiently waited for the revelation of Tray's self proclaimed great plan.

"You and Zack -" Tray recommenced, "identical or fraternal twins?"

Shannon's eyes lit up in delight at the long awaited disclosure of what Tray had come up with. To be completely honest, she was sort of surprised that he had managed to even come up with it in the first place. If it was revealed to them that the Martins were identical twins - meaning that they shared the same DNA - then a match between Cody's blood and the blood on the blanket would give the police all the proof they needed.

Tray and Shannon both waited anxiously for an answer from Cody, both of them anticipating that it would be the one they hoped for.

"Identical, why?"

Tray pumped his fist in the air and gave Shannon the immediate thumbs up before reverting his attention back to the phone and opened his mouth to speak in reply to Cody.

"Perfect."

----

Zack's heart stopped as he felt the car come to a slow and bumpy stop. After a few seconds of nothing except the sound of the engine quietly humming, the car then shut down and Zack heard Phil take the keys out of the ignition. They were here - wherever _here_ was.

"Get out." Phil spoke, causing Zack to jump. Reluctantly lifting the blanket off himself, Zack did as he was told and opened the car door.

The cool night air stung his face as Zack stepped out and took in the area around him. He had no idea where Phil had taken them. Nothing seemed familiar, but then again, there wasn't exactly a large number of allies in Boston that Zack was too familiar with. Looking up the alley, he saw that there were a couple of sets of stairs that led up to front doors of houses, including the one that Phil had parked his car in front of.

"Come on." Phil then said. He grabbed Zack's arm and dragged him up the steps of one of the houses. He took a quick gaze over each of his shoulders before he knocked the door in. Zack gasped as he was shoved into the house.

Everything inside was dark and dusty. It was like that nothing within it had been touched for a number of years.

"Where are we?" Zack then dared to ask.

"Loft." Phil replied simply, "A guy who I caught a couple of months ago was hiding out here. It's been locked up since then. No-one will ever suspect a thing."

After this was said, Phil then placed a cardboard box that he had been carrying on top of the mantle piece that sat against the wall. It landed with a gentle thud as Zack gawked at it curiously. Besides from that, the only other things that Phil had brought with him were the gun and the clothes on his back. There had to be something more about that box, but Zack figured he'd worry about that later. There were other things that kind of stuck out in his mind more at that moment.

"You know you can't keep this up right?" He spoke bravely. Phil turned around and stared at him as he swallowed and opened his mouth to speak again. "You'll get caught out eventually. The cops will get you."

Phil laughed cynically, much to Zack's surprise. "Ah, Zack, but there's one thing you're forgetting. I'm a cop too. Anything they can do, I can do better."

There was a pause as Zack realised just how right Phil may have been. He watched anxiously as Phil then walked over and, after jamming the door back into place as best as he could, lock it. He was quickly beginning to wonder if he was ever going to escape.

"So," Phil started again, snapping Zack from his trance, "here's what's happening. I know someone who I can do some… _jobs_ for. When I get the money, we're on the move again. But until then, you're going to do what I say."

Zack shook his head as these words flew through his mind. He still didn't understand anything that Phil was telling him - except maybe the whole 'jobs' thing, that part was pretty clear. But as far as Zack knew, Phil was going to make money and then go on with these so called 'plans' he had for the two of them. But then what? There were far too many holes in the entire occurrence to make sense of any of it, and after being taken further and further away from his family and friends, Zack wasn't sure how much more he could take. No matter what the consequences.

"No!" Zack barked defiantly, "No, no more!"

The look on Phil's face sent a shiver down Zack's spine. He ultimately hoped that if he made enough noise, and if he could survive long enough, he would catch the attention of someone else in the area and cause them to come and see what was going on. And even though that gun still haunted Zack's imagination to an extreme extent, he figured that if he was going down, he was going down fighting.

"Zack!" Phil yelled in a hushed tone, "You need to shut your mouth before someone hears us."

"I don't care!" Zack screamed, "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of being away from my family, I'm sick of being threatened and beat up, and I'm sick of not being told what's going on!"

Phil instantly started laughing again and, weirdly enough, smiled. "You sure are a brave little punk, aren't you?"

There was no response as Zack once again tried to wrap his head around on of Phil's insanely strange mood swings.

"Well I'm sorry, Zack," Phil resumed, "but this is how things are going to stay."

Zack felt immediately inclined to hold back burning tears that were crying to let free as Phil slowly crept closer to him.

"It's over, Zack. You're not going anywhere." Zack continued backing away, "And you're not ending up like Daniel did."

A nerve suddenly snapped deep inside Zack at the mention of that name. Daniel. The kid who seemingly had an indication to be very closely tied to this whole situation, but at the same time, was nowhere to be seen. The kid who looked almost identical to Zack. And to his little brother.

In an impulsive burst of rage and fear, Zack flung the cardboard box from the mantle piece towards Phil in an attempt to keep him away. It missed by inches and landed on the floor with, strangely, a smash. Phil gasped as thick dust exploded from the floor from the impact of the box landing on it. The lid had fallen open from the same momentum and, perhaps worst of all, revealed pieces of broken glass. Along with this was more dust. Except it was thicker and darker. And looked more like ash.

"You little shit!" Phil shouted with intense anger.

Zack then yelled out in agony as Phil struck him with a hard, clean right hook straight in the mouth.

----

Cody leapt up in bed and swallowed back the explosive scream he was dying to let out. His breathing still heavy, he turned his head slightly and gazed at the clock on his nightstand. His eyes widened when he saw the figures 11:15 staring back at him. He had only been in bed for about 45 minutes, and the intense images of his frightening dream from the previous night had already come back to haunt him. But it was different this time.

Cody had still been in the same dark room, or 'his mind', or whatever it was - but this time, Zack hadn't joined him. Not once. It was like he was really gone. Cody had franticly looked around everywhere for any sign of his brother's presence, but Zack was nowhere to be found. He had been just about ready to give up when something abruptly caught Cody's attention. He couldn't see it, but the sound of shattering ceramics and the extremely faint glimpses of shimmering fragments in the air were immensely obvious. Then, before he could even attempt to figure out what exactly was going on, his thoughts were interrupted by the ear piercing sound of a thud and a loud, aching yelp. The noise was more powerful than any other thump that he had heard in his any of his recent dreams. It was almost like that it had brought him pain, too.

That's when he woke up. Cody shook his head as he wiped these memories out of his mind. He thought for a moment that maybe he should try to get back to sleep, but he was far too distracted by everything for that. Particularly, he thought, by the small band-aid that sat uncomfortably on the inside of his elbow. Cody closely examined the circular piece of sticky plastic as he remembered what his parents had said to him at the police station right before he was prodded with the large needle.

'_They've brought in the greatest doctor they could find, honey, this is the best thing you could ever do for Zack.'_

'_Your DNA could lead us right to him, sport!'_

_There I go again. _Cody then thought to himself. Quickly becoming frustrated with the constant space Zack was occupying in his mind, Cody stretched his arm over to his nightstand and switched on his iPod dock. Allowing the first song that came on to play, Cody collapsed back into his pillow while the song 'Fix You' by Coldplay rang through his ears.

_**When you try your best, but you don't succeed**_

_**When you get what you want, but not what you need**_

_**When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep**_

_**Stuck in reverse**_

Cody rolled over so his vision was in the general direction of the door to his and Zack's room. Just as he started to wonder whether his parents were still up and about, as if on cue, he heard their voices boom from the living room. And they didn't sound happy.

_**And the tears come streaming down your face**_

_**When you lose something you can't replace**_

_**When you love someone but it goes to waste**_

_**Could it be worse?**_

Feeling intrigued, Cody reluctantly climbed out of his bed and pressed his ear against the door.

"You head what they said, Kurt!" Carey yelled at her ex-husband, "That Captain officer, whatever, Brookes told us that generally after 48 hours the trail begins to run cold. And that's what it's almost been."

"Run cold?" Kurt spat in reply, "Cody's DNA matched what they found in that bedroom, the police know who has Zack."

"But that psycho is nowhere to be found!"

"So, what, that's my fault?!"

This was beginning to feel all too familiar to Cody. What he was hearing was exactly how Carey and Kurt used to argue right before they got divorced.

"I'm not saying this is your fault, Kurt! Would you like to know why? Because you haven't done anything! You haven't done anything constructive for the past 9 years! And, no, the occasional visit to your sons doesn't cut it!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't so hard on Zack all the time, Carey, he wouldn't have left in the first place!"

That was just about all Cody could take. Sure Kurt probably could have stopped by and seen the boys or called a little more often than what he had for almost the past decade, and perhaps Carey could have lay off Zack and not been so defensive against him lately, but that didn't mean that either parent should've been shouting what they were to one another.

Not bothering to stop his iPod, Cody burst through his bedroom door and marched into the suite's living room – the slow chorus of the song playing quietly in the background.

_**Lights will guide you home**_

_**And ignite your bones**_

_**And I will try to fix you**_

"Just stop it, will you!"

Carey and Kurt both shot their vision up to Cody as he plainly and loudly announced his arrival into the room.

"Man," he resumed, "if this is what it's like listening to Zack and I argue, then I swear, if I ever see him again, I am going to stop all the fighting."

There was an awkward pause as all conversation in the room stopped. Carey and Kurt both took some time to comprehend the words that had just came from their youngest son, and after they shot a worried glance at each other, Carey licked her lips and slowly opened her mouth to speak.

"_If _you ever see him again?" The words revolved through Carey's mind as she spoke, pulling at her heart strings, "Oh, baby, of course you'll see your brother again." She dashed over to where Cody stood and wrapped her arms around him, "The police are going to find him. Everything's going to be ok."

Cody froze where he stood, allowing his mum to hold him in the tight embrace. But he couldn't escape the feeling that there was something wrong with what she was saying to him.

"How do you know that?" Cody replied, breaking away from Carey's grip, "What if everything's not going to be ok?"

Cody glared up at Carey and Kurt awaiting a reply. There was something very strange about how he was feeling. He felt… different. A particular emotion that he couldn't quite put his finger on had suddenly swept over his whole body. There was something about Zack not being in his dream that bothered him. Something that told him Zack wasn't ok, that Zack was in deeper than he had been so far through this whole occurrence. And even if -

_Zack hates me._

- even if that were true, Cody still couldn't help but feel rapidly worried and scared for Zack. He was finally starting to understand everything.

"How do you know he's not dead right now?"

Cody watched as he parents joined in a mutual gasp. Kurt stared at him in confusion, while Carey's eyes immediately showed evident sorrow. "No." She spoke simply, "No, Cody, you can't think like that."

"Why?" He snapped in instant response, "We all know what a smart arse he can be. One wrong comment and, boom! No more Zack."

The sorrow in Carey's eyes was instantaneously backed up by tears as soon as this remark came from Cody. Stumbling backwards, she grabbed onto Kurt's arm and let out a silent sob. "Cody…" She barely spoke, visibly distracted by heartache. And although Kurt felt this as well, he, on the other hand, was also filled to the brink with anger that Cody could say, let alone think, something so cruel.

"How can you say that?" He said with fury, "He's your brother!"

"I don't care!" Cody yelled back. Then with the tense feeling still apparent in the suite, Cody turned around and stormed back into his bedroom. Taking extra care to slam the door behind him, he then stood shaky against it and tried to calm down. The long and loud guitar solo had just finished blasting from his iPod, which he had left on, as the lyrics of the song's bridge began to echo through his room.

_**Tears stream down your face**_

_**When you lose something you cannot replace**_

_**Tears stream down you face **_

_**And I**_

Cody's memory flew back to the night that Zack had been kidnapped. They undoubtedly had their fair share of insults thrown at one another, but one precise request that Cody had made to Zack was the statement that was currently turning his mind upside down.

'_Then why don't you just leave?!'_

And that was exactly what Zack had done.

"The one time he did what I asked him to." Cody spoke quietly, cursing himself.

As much as he strived to let go of everything he was feeling towards Zack at that moment, Cody couldn't bring himself to do it. All the time that he had spent moving on and ignoring offers to talk about Zack, Cody hadn't even been able to stop and figure out his feelings for himself. But, when it came right down to it, Zack was gone. And it was killing Cody inside.

_**Tears stream down your face**_

_**I promise you I will learn from my mistakes**_

_**Tears stream down you face**_

_**And I**_

"Oh my God."

The words came softly from Cody's mouth as he hastily realised what impact this new found emotion was having on him. All because of that dream. That dream that told him Zack was in danger.

He gradually slid down against his bedroom door and made a landing on the ground as he felt his eyes fill up with hot tears. Tears that hadn't been emitted at all since Zack's disappearance.

"Zack…" Cody spoke again, his speech interrupted by sobs and chokes, "…I'm so sorry."

_**Lights will guide you home**_

_**And ignite your bones**_

**_And I will try to fix you_**

__

**

* * *

**

**And Cody finally cracked! Lol, like it? I'll update again at 35 reviews. Please :)**

**Thanks guys! Reneyyyyyyy x**


	11. Moments Of Weakness

**Hello again, it's nice to be back so soon :) Thanks heaps to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Before we begin I just wanted to mention that I've got the feeling I'm getting really dodgy with my spell checking and whatnot. If there's heaps of mistakes or anything like that can someone please let me know so I can take more time when I'm reading over future updates? Thankies :) Enjoy my new chapter!**

* * *

Zack sat in one of the dark corners of the abandoned loft and watched Phil wearily. His captor was kneeling beside the up-turned cardboard box with his eyes glued to the ash that had spilled all over the floor. And after sitting in dead silence for who knows how long, Zack had pretty much figured out that what had shattered from the box and let the ash loose all along the wooden floorboards of the room were the ceramic pieces of an urn.

Zack shuddered at the thought of whose remains were lying before him, but not only that, he wondered why Phil seemed so protective of them.

Switching his gaze from the ever-increasing darkness outside the loft to the image of Phil crumbled into a heap next to the smashed urn, Zack studied the man with great intent. Phil was a mess, a total mess. For roughly about the past half hour, he hadn't said a single word. In fact, Zack could've sworn at one point he had even heard him whimpering.

_Some cop this guy turned out to be, _Zack thought to himself, _he's basically having a mental breakdown right in front of me._

Almost instantly after this thought crossed Zack's mind, he shook his head in his best attempts to erase it. _Alright, don't get smart. You don't want another smack in the mouth._

Zack dared to touch the tender spot on his face where had been punched by Phil, but immediately moved his hand away as a sharp pain shot across his jaw. It can't have been broken, he presumed, because he'd be in a lot more pain if it was. But nevertheless, it still hurt like hell, and his previously gained fat lip had blown up to about ten times it's size as well.

Beginning to feel frantic, Zack cast his gaze back over at Phil. After sitting through such a long period of silence in the room, there had to be something going through his mind. It was time to talk. Zack gawked at the gun and took a deep breath, then swallowed and opened his mouth to speak.

"Phil… what happened?"

Phil's head instantly shot up at the sound of Zack's voice. "What do you care?"

Zack paused and retreated from conversation at the sound of the harsh tone of Phil's voice. To be completely honest, he didn't particularly care, he just wanted to be told what was going on - for once.

Plucking his courage back up, Zack spoke again, "Who is that?"

The statement left his mouth slowly as Zack gestured towards the broken urn, but there was no reply.

"Did you… do it?"

This triggered a reaction as Phil let out a single bark of laughter. "It wasn't me who did this, you little moron!" Zack jumped at this sudden out burst, "I was the one who was meant to protect him! Not only did I fail as a cop, I screwed up as a father!"

Zack's eyes widened as he mind impulsively clicked. "Daniel?" He asked.

After what seemed like an eternity, Phil sombrely nodded his head. "I let him down." Phil began, "When me and his mother broke up, I just left. I hadn't seen him ages. Then when I was trailing some low life for work, he took Daniel. He knew that it would work me up." Zack tried to keep up as Phil's mouth seemed to be running at a million miles a minute, "My partner and I found the bastard. He told us not to move or he'd shoot Dan. I didn't even blink. But my dopey team mate thought that he'd have enough time to take the guy out, but…"

Zack let out a slight gasp under his breath as Phil's voice trailed off. The rest of the story was pretty self explanatory, but not only that, everything finally made sense to him. Phil never wanted to hurt him, he just wanted a cheap replacement for his own son. And maybe underneath his hard outer shell, he wasn't a monster. He was just a grieving father.

"Ya' know," Zack recommenced, after some deep thought, "you don't have to go through this. Any of it."

Phil looked up, but Zack didn't notice. His thoughts had hastily drifted off to another place.

Phil said that he had just left Daniel, and no-one more than Zack knew how that felt. He remembered what he had been through all those years ago when Kurt suddenly wasn't around anymore. He didn't understand at first. All he knew was that the arguing between Mummy and Daddy had stopped, but it meant that Daddy wasn't going to live at home anymore. That, and that he and Cody had to be there to support each other from then on. Zack had never spoken about Kurt to anyone else besides Cody, and that was solely because he didn't want anyone to see just how much his dad's leaving had really affected him.

"My dad left me too. He might not have made the best choices all the time, but he's still my dad." Zack stopped for a moment to calm himself. He hadn't spoken this deeply about Kurt for a long time, "Just because Daniel was angry at you, doesn't mean he didn't love you. I don't think he blames you for what happened."

Following this, Zack reverted back to silence and waited for a response from Phil. He hoped that the man wouldn't turn to his unpredictable anger, but as Zack risked to take a glimpse at him, it looked as if Phil wasn't the slightest bit irritated at all.

"Is that how you feel about your dad?"

Zack didn't say anything for a moment. He found himself sizing up his captor, trying to read whether Phil was actually looking for an answer from him or not, until he eventually decided; _Just roll with it, dude._

"Well, yeah," He began, "of course. And my mum, too. We don't always get along, but I know she's just trying to do what's best for me. She thinks I need to take more responsibility for my actions and get my head out of the clouds. I suppose I could try to listen to her a little more, but it's not like I'm not learning anything at all. I've got this friend," Zack paused for a second as he uncontrollably let a smile grow across his face, "Maddie. I've known her a long time and she's always looking out for me. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

"Anyone else?" Phil asked, cutting in.

Zack froze as the smile fell from his face. Was there anyone else he cared so much for and felt he needed to tell Phil about? He hesitated for as long as could without seeming suspicious, then gradually gazed back up to reply.

"No. No, there's no-one else."

The pair then fell back to silence. Zack's mind continued rolling, however, as he slipped back into his original thinking of trying to find a way out of there. Phil seemed a lot more willing to listen to what Zack had to say. Carey had always told him he could be a very manipulative child, but this was getting crazy. It may not have been fair that Zack was taking advantage of Phil's moment of weakness, but if it was going to get him out of there, then something good had to come of it in the end.

"My mum's probably feeling the same way you are right now." Zack said, "She'll be really worried. She just wants me home safe."

"I was going to go back for Dan." Phil responded, seeming to change the subject, "I had a plan, I still do. I was going to take him with me and give him the life he deserved."

"You can't make me the stand-in for Daniel." Zack urged. He shifted closer to where Phil was sitting and went on, "You can fix everything. Just let me go home."

Phil latched onto the desperation in Zack's eyes. Many of the things that the boy had said were true. He couldn't possibly make a substitution for his son, but at the same time, he very well couldn't go back to his life and his job after what he had done to Zack either. He had to make his mind up one way or the other, and it was becoming immensely obvious how anxious Zack was to return home.

Zack's ticket back home was slowly coming closer and closer. He could almost see it, when suddenly, a loud knock at the door caused both he and Phil to jump right out of their skin.

"Hello?" The voice boomed, "This is a closed area! I know there's someone in there, I've called the police and they're on their way!"

Phil cursed as he leapt off the ground and subtly peered through a gap in the curtains. Zack watched as he did so and soon found that he had a decision to make. It was a long shot, but he thought that he managed to just yell loud enough -

"Help!" Zack flew up from the floor as well, as Phil spun around with clenched teeth. "Help me! Get me out of here!"

Growling beneath his breath, Phil stormed over to Zack and shoved him back to the ground. Feeling his heart drop into the pit of the stomach, Zack then observed with terror as Phil picked up his gun. Luckily for him, though, Phil flipped it around and, holding it by the holster, swung the door open and clobbered the brave civilian over the head with it. The man instantly dropped to ground in a heap, and just as Zack felt his heart regain it's regular beating pace, the image of Phil walking back towards him caused it speed right back up again.

"You lying little prick." He spoke through gritted teeth, "When I am done with you, you will never see the light of day ever again."

And then just as quickly as Zack had felt his world begin to piece back together, it fell and crumbled all around him and dragged him that one step further away from his family all over again.

----

Cody lay on his bed and gazed up at the ceiling. He hadn't even noticed that his iPod had gone flat - there was too much else on his mind. It had certainly been a hard thing for Cody to admit to himself just how worried he was about his brother, but now that he had, he couldn't stop thinking about Zack.

It was then that he remembered everything that he had said to Carey and Kurt about the matter. As far as they knew, Cody was still feeling bitter and hard-hearted towards Zack. He was thinking that maybe it was time he apologised.

Reluctantly getting off his bed, Cody sat up and wiped his eyes in his best efforts to hide the fact that he had been crying. He forced his ear against the door once more to hear if Carey and Kurt were still talking, but much to his surprise, he heard three voices. Though none of them belonged to his parents.

Cody swung the door open and immediately caught the attention of the three police officers sitting in his family's suite. Keith was still there manning the phone, but now it seemed that he had been joined by Shannon and Tray.

"Hey, buddy." Tray spoke brightly.

"Hi." Cody replied, "Where are my parents?"

"They're downstairs with our boss talking to Mr. Moesby." Tray said in response, "Your mum just asked us to wait up here in case you came out of your room."

Cody simply nodded his head in silence. He couldn't think of any else to say, especially since he was still wondering in the back of his mind why Shannon and Tray had come to see Carey and Kurt in the first place.

"So, how was school?" Cody's head snapped up at the sound of Shannon's voice. He gave her look that said two things - one being 'you better not start asking me millions of questions again' and the second being 'how the heck did you know I went to school?'

"Your mum told me you decided to go." Shannon then said, obviously being able to read the expression on Cody's face.

"It was ok." He replied, "My teacher said I'm going to get another chance to do my English exam."

Shannon and Tray then shot a concerning glance at each other before looking back at Cody. He sort of guessed that they were referring more to whether or not he was having a hard time at school without Zack. "A lot of kids were asking me if I was ok." He said.

"And what did you say?" Shannon asked apprehensively.

Cody hesitated for a moment. He might have been alright - to and extent - when he was at school, but he definitely wasn't now.

"That I was."

Quickly deciding to change the subject, Cody then opened his mouth to ask the one question that refused to disperse from his mind.

"Have you found out anything? About Zack?"

Shannon and Tray both sighed, "Afraid not, Cody." Tray answered.

"Phil's disappeared," Shannon chimed in, "so I guess we'll just have to keep chasing."

Cody felt his heart sink. It was bad enough that Zack was gone in the first place, but now he had discovered that this so called police officer had completely vanished with his brother still in tow.

All Cody wanted was to have Zack back, even if they didn't make up, he needed to know that his brother was safe. As well as this, he also wanted more than anything for the nightmares to stop.

Almost immediately after he internally reminded himself of his nightmares, Cody suddenly remembered something that he hahn't initially understood.

"If you're not willing to chase me, then you're not going to get me back."

Cody spoke this out loud as he instantly comprehended what Zack had meant.

"What?" Shannon asked, having heard Cody mutter this to himself.

"That's what Zack was talking about!" Cody unexpectedly shouted with evident grief, "That's what he was trying to tell me! I didn't care when he was gone and now I've lost him forever!"

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Shannon interjected, "what do you mean you didn't care?"

Barely hearing what Shannon had said through his own thoughts, and trying his best to hold back, Cody hysterically broke into tears again as he crashed down onto the couch beside her. She threw a worried glance at Tray before she placed an arm over Cody's shoulder.

"I told him to leave." Cody started through sobs, rather than giving Shannon the chance to speak, "When Zack and I were arguing I told him to leave. And I was happy at first, I thought we both got what we wanted. But I was really, really wrong. And now it hurts so bad."

Cody choked out another blubber as Shannon began to comfortingly rub his back. "And you know he's feeling the same way too."

Hearing this, Cody abruptly stopped. _No way, _he thought, _Zack hates me. _

Cody tried his best to contain himself as he wiped the warm tears out of his eyes and straightened his back up where he sat. "No. No, my brother hates me. He told me so."

"And you believe him?" Shannon asked contradictively.

Before Cody got the chance to even think of a reply, Shannon turned her awareness to Tray and Keith and gestured toward the front door. Straight away they both nodded their heads and then got up and made a quick exit, leaving and eerily calm Shannon and a still slight frenzied Cody.

"Cody," she resumed, "I've got a story I'd like to tell you."

* * *

**Does it feel good to finally be let in on everything that's going on with crazy ol' Phil?**

**We're getting right down to things now, I will let yaz know that I've got this whole story all planned out, and there's only, like, 3 chapters or so left. Would anyone care to take a guess what's going to happen between now and the end?**

**Please don't forget to review, I'll update again when we get to 40. Thanks guys :)**

**Reneyyyyyy x.**


	12. For Zack

**Hello readers :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, you guys are pretty much all awesome!  
****I'll update again once we have 45 reviews. Not that I'm saying 50 wouldn't go alright *hint*  
****I won't say much about this chapter, only this; please don't hate me at the end.  
Enjoy.; x.**

* * *

Cody sat on the couch still shaking slightly from the overwhelming feeling of panic that had taken over him as he waited impatiently for Shannon to start talking again. He was mentally kicking himself now for even mentioning anything about Zack to her in the first place. When Cody had first met Shannon, it had in fact been her partner, Tray, that he had taken an immediate liking to.

Tray had been the one who came across friendlier, keener to listen to what Cody had to say, and had shown genuine respect when Cody decided not to talk any longer. But Shannon, on the other hand, had given a very different first impression. It seemed to Cody that every confronting conversation with Shannon was only initiated so it could lead to a direct point. There was no real communication at all, just an uptight, snarky woman doing her job. What story could she possibly want to share with Cody?

Shannon fixed her gaze on Cody, smiling, though as she opened her mouth to speak, the smile seemed to drop. "Cody," she finally began, "when I was 17 I had this boyfriend. Braith. I was so in love with him. I thought he was the perfect boyfriend – good looks, smart, charming, awesome personality – "

"Look, Shannon," Cody abruptly interjected, "if this is a story about you getting dumped, thanks, but I've heard plenty of those from my mum."

Shannon instantly burst into laughter, bringing the brighter expression back to her face, "No, that's not what this story's about." There was a sudden pause as Shannon seemed to hesitate for a moment, "Well, not entirely anyway."

Cody couldn't help but crack a small smile at that statement, and as Shannon welcomingly made herself more comfortable on the couch, he began to think that maybe there was a real personality beneath the officer's hard-faced exterior after all.

"It was almost our one year anniversary," Shannon continued, "when Braith told me that he had been cheating on me for half a year with a girl that was a year younger than me and now he was breaking up with me for her."

Although Cody was cringing in genuine sympathy for Shannon, he was still instigating to wonder where exactly this story was going, "Ok, that's got major ouch factor and everything, but I don't really see how it relates to me." He spoke to her.

With the smirk once again fallen from her face, Shannon simply nodded her head before opening her mouth to go on, "That other girl was my younger sister. Roxanne. We had a _huge_ argument. We called each other every name in the book and said some stuff there's no way I'm repeating here."

Hearing this, Cody swiftly raised his hand to protest that he was old enough to hear the details of the profane dispute, but of course, Shannon read it, "And no," she said, "I don't care how old you are."

Taking this as a hint to back down, Cody sharply withdrew his objection and turned his awareness to the carpeted floor, allowing Shannon to resume her account.

"Anyway, after some extremely ill use of the English language and telling her that I hated her, Roxy left and went to Braith's house."

It was then that Shannon stopped dead in her tracks yet again while she appeared to be gathering her thoughts, preparing to deliver the next part of the seemingly pointless story.

"Cody… my sister died that evening."

Cody's head shot up in a micro second as soon as the sentence had left Shannon's lips. She wore a grave look on her face, as Cody could only imagine how scared his expression seemed.

After what was certainly only a few seconds, but what seemed like an eternity, the silence that had swept over the suite decisively ended as Shannon picked up where she left off.

"She and Braith went for a ride on his motorbike. He was always a useless rider, plus he was half-tanked at the time, mind you. Eventually after all their weaving in and out of traffic, they ended up into a tree at 70 miles an hour. Neither of them had a chance. I know the police couldn't have helped what happened to Roxy, but that's part of the reason why I joined the force. All I want is to save kids like Zack before they're taken away from their parents and siblings like Roxy was taken away from me."

With all that said, Shannon paused for an instant to see if Cody would say anything, though she wasn't very surprised when he didn't. She shuffled closer to the grim looking teen and placed a supporting hand on his shoulder.

"I never got the chance to make up with Roxy and tell her that I love her, but you still have that chance with Zack."

Reluctantly looking up at the mention of his brother, Cody gawked at Shannon in total amazement. How she managed to get on in life without her sister was indefinable to him, and became more so for a split second as he pictured his life without Zack. The image scared him to death.

"Don't be afraid to talk to him just because you said some hurtful stuff to each other." Shannon recommenced, snapping Cody from his trance, "Life's too short for grudges, Cody. Especially with those people who love you most in the entire world."

Slowly beginning to allow the smile to reappear on his face, Cody nodded his head. He understood now why Shannon had told him the story of her sister. Though it may have started with a betrayal of trust between boyfriend and girlfriend, it ended with two sisters being torn apart for the rest of one of their lives. And no matter what the boys may have been arguing about, Cody now knew that there was no way in the world he was going to let that happen to him and Zack.

"Thanks Shannon."

Shannon countered the genuine smile that Cody was beaming at her, "Any time, kiddo."

All of a sudden, just as Cody was gradually beginning to feel better, the telephone erupted in its eerie ringing tone that echoed throughout the whole suite. The pleasant gaze between Cody and Shannon instantaneously switched to a not-so-pleasant one directed at the phone as Tray and Keith came bounding back through the front door.

"Keith!" Shannon yelled.

"I heard it." Keith replied while he dashed over to all the equipment he had set up and plugged into the ordinary household phone.

He immediately shot his concentration to the caller I.D that flashed on the screen, his mouth gaping at the name that stared back at him.

"It's Zack's cell."

Shannon spun back around on the spot to face Cody, whose face by now had been drained of all of its colour and replaced with an expression of pure fear.

"Cody, you have to answer it."

"What?" Cody spat in instant reply, "No. No, I can't."

"Yes you can." Shannon pestered urgently, "For Zack."

The moment his brother's name was said, Cody felt his heart sink. After hearing the recount of Shannon and her sister, he prayed with his whole being that Zack was ok. He could only just imagine how scared Zack must have been, but Cody himself was scared too. Scared that when he answered the phone he was going to hear something that would bring his whole world crashing down.

"Cody!" Shannon cried again, bringing Cody back down to earth.

"Ok, ok." He spoke, "For Zack."

Summoning all the courage he could possibly muster, Cody took a deep breath and reached out towards the phone.

"Keep him on line for as long as possible, buddy." Keith advised. Nodding his head one final time, Cody rapidly snatched the phone up and pressed it to his ear, hoping for the best.

"H-hello?"

At first there was nothing, but then a frighteningly harsh voice ricocheted down Cody's end of the phone.

"Where's Zack's lovely mother this evening?"

Cody cowered at the sound of the man that spoke to him – the man that was responsible for tearing his family apart. "She's not here." He replied, though he quickly realised that this may give Phil an excuse to hang up. "What are you doing to Zack?"

Phil laughed menacingly down the phone. "Ah, don't worry about Zack. He's fine, completely fine. You see, Zack and I had a nice long chat. We understand each other. And I know everything about all the people that he cares most about in the whole world."

Cody remained frozen where he stood as the tone in the man's voice caused a sudden burst of helplessness to sweep over his whole body.

"He told me all about his mum and dad," Phil prolonged, "even his friend, Maddie."

This triggered a reaction for Cody, as he automatically comprehended that there was one name not mentioned by Phil. His.

"Anything yet, Keith?" Shannon spoke to the officer attempting to track where the call was coming from.

"Not yet," Keith replied in disappointment, "still trying."

"He didn't say anyone else?" Cody asked Phil in disbelief.

"Nope, I'm afraid – fuck!"

Out of nowhere, much like the loud curse from Zack's captor, Cody heard shuffling coming from the background Phil was situated in, and then a very definite thud.

"No." Cody spoke quietly to himself as he frantically tried to decipher what was going on. The next thing that was heard was another thud followed by loud, fast footsteps. And then screaming.

"That little shit!" Phil shouted, "Run out on me, I'll kill him! Zack?!"

"No!" Cody yelled, countering the loud volume, "Please, don't hurt him!"

Tray and Shannon both snapped their heads up at the sound of Cody's hysterical screams. "Keith!" Tray bellowed wearily.

"Oh, God, please." Cody cried through explosive tears, "Zack!"

"Now Keith!" Both officers yelled at once.

"It's no use, he's blocked us out!"

More hot tears fell from Cody's face as he continued to shake violently and scream Zack's name over and over again. He couldn't lose his big brother – not like Shannon lost Roxy, and as Tray hastily ripped his own phone out of his pocket and called Leroy, and Shannon ran out of the room to try and find Carter, that was all that Cody could think about.

"I can't do it, Zack!" Cody shrieked desperately, "I can't live without – "

Cutting right through his sentence was then the loud, ear piercing sound of a car horn boom down the phone as Cody felt his whole world slow down and freeze before it eventually crumbled to the ground, while Phil let out one final thunderous yell exactly simultaneous with a car screeching its brakes on. And Cody felt his heart break.

"Zaaack!!"

* * *


	13. Questions

**Alright, I know you guys are dying to know what happened to Zack, but the first bit of this chapter is pretty much the same as the end of the last one except it's told from Zack's end. I hope you're ready for it. And thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, too. Enjoy.**

* * *

The darkness whizzed by Zack in a blur as he stared out the window. There was absolutely no expression across his face while he felt the car gradually race up to a higher speed and he began to recreate the images of everything that had just happened in his mind.

The stench on Phil's breath had been disgustingly strong when he unwelcomingly entered Zack's comfort zone and spoke to him menacingly.

'_When I am done with you, you will never see the light of day ever again._'

Zack shuddered as the words replayed in his head. And worse still, if that were even possible, thus far Phil had been entirely true to his word.

As soon as his captor had pulled the unconscious man into the loft, Zack gasped helplessly at the sharp pain that shot up his arm as Phil dragged him through the front door.

"Forget about the money." Phil grunted quietly, more to himself than Zack, "If that clown back there really did call my old pals at the station, we need to get out of here now. We'll just skip straight to the next step."

Swinging the back seat door open, Phil then shoved Zack in, "Remember that little plan I mentioned?" Zack simply nodded his head in response, "Well," Phil continued, "you just became the major factor in it."

Zack felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as the smirk of immorality grew across Phil's face. Once again, Zack was back to where he had started. Just as he had almost managed to get away and escape his captor's clutches, Phil somehow twisted everything back to his liking and the two were on the run again. The cycle was never ending.

"Sit up straight!" Phil barked from the driver's seat, "It's dark out, moron - no-one's going to see you, and I want to make sure you aren't going to try and pull another stunt."

Hastily abiding to what he had been told to do, Zack buckled his seat belt and then took a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever was to come next.

Zack suddenly jerked back into reality as the car pulled over and came to a jolting stop on the side of the road. He began to feel his hands shake wearily as Phil slowly put on the hand brake.

Turning around, Zack could just see a petrol station about 50 metres behind where the car was parked, yet it was very late out and there was only one or two cars hanging around, plus they had been driving for ages now and were probably many kilometres out of Boston. It seemed to him that there was nothing that could be done to help the situation. Although admittedly, there were a few more things that were of higher importance in Zack's mind at that moment, like the fact that he was trying to figure out why Phil had stopped the car in the first place.

As the eerie silence was just beginning to swallow the car up in severe discomfort, Phil finally shifted his hand to his pocket and pulled out Zack's mobile phone.

"Let's say one final goodbye to Mummy."

Zack's jaw dropped in slight shock while Phil commenced scrolling through the phone's contacts in search of Carey's home number.

_And I'm the moron? _Zack thought to himself, _This guy's got me right where he wants me and he decides to call Mum? There's gotta be something wrong with him._

"Where's Zack's lovely mother this evening?"

Zack's head snapped up as soon as he heard this. _Mum didn't answer? _He thought again, _Then who - Cody!_

There was no logical way for Zack to know, but he was absolutely certain that Cody had answered the phone. He could feel it.

Impulsively feeling frantic all over again, Zack set the cogs in his mind to work as he tried to think of another plan.

He looked over his shoulder again and gazed out the back windshield. Focusing on the petrol station that sat extremely close behind him, Zack reopened the conversation with himself, _Alright dude, think. You got the best time in class for the 300 feet sprint. From here to there looks about half the distance, so if you get a good start you should be able to get there in… 16 divided by 2… 8 seconds._

Swiveling back around where he sat, Zack took another deep breath and began to study the space around him. The door was unlocked, so that would make it easier, but if he was going to get there to get help from the 24 hour cashiers, he figured that it would all have to be done in one swift movement - unbuckle his seat belt, fling open the door, and then sprint for his life. Literally.

"Ah, don't worry about Zack. He's fine, completely fine. You see, Zack and I had a nice long chat. We understand each other. And I know everything about all the people that he cares most about in the whole world."

Zack's attention was immediately drawn back to Phil talking to Cody.

"He told me all about his mum and dad, even his friend, Maddie."

Zack cringed slightly as Phil said this, but he soon centred his attention back to the adrenalin rushing through his body at the thought of his plan. And at the sight of the gun.

_It's now or never, man._

Zack then slowly and un-noticeably placed one hand on his seatbelt buckle and the other on the door handle.

_Three, two, _he took in one final huge breath, …_one._

"Nope, I'm afraid – fuck!"

Phil spun around as he heard the door open and then slam shut all within about half a second. He felt the pure torment of rage as his eyes cast onto the image of Zack tearing up the road on foot.

Cursing again, Phil grabbed his gun and then, without hanging up the phone, burst out of the car door and took off like lightning after Zack.

The 8 seconds that Zack had originally predicted seemed to stretch on forever as his feet thudded up the gravel road and he felt his heart pound like thunder in his chest. "Almost there." He puffed out to himself in an exasperated tone. "Just keep running."

"That little shit!" Zack then heard Phil erupt from behind him, "Run out on me, I'll kill him! Zack?!"

Zack stepped up the pace to an immense extent as he pictured Phil directly on his heels, waving the gun about like a mad man.

_Your almost there, _Zack said in his mind again, _My God, what were you doing thinking you can out run a cop?! No, quit thinking like that, you're there! Off the gravel, onto the driveway, scream now!_

With the door to the cramped looking store in clear sight, Zack opened his mouth to yell for help, but instead of hearing his own voice explode from his lips, he instead heard Phil shout out an ear piercing cry of 'No!' and drop the phone to the ground.

Zack whirled around at the sound of a booming car horn and froze. He felt his heart stop as he was blinded by two headlights. The car came to a screeching halt, but it was too late.

All the light of Zack's world disappeared as he faded into darkness - the only noise left being the mumbled sound echoing from the phone of Cody screaming in horror for his big brother.

----

"…might think it's a little weird that I'm talking to you while you're asleep,"

Zack's eyes slowly fluttered open at the sound of the all-too-familiar voice. Allowing his vision to adjust to the bright lighting, Zack gazed around the room. At first, and much to his delight, he thought that he was at home lying in bed, but he soon realised that with the uncomfortable breeze he was feeling came a night gown, only proving that he was in the hospital. Then his perception fell onto an image that made him smile. Standing only inches away from his bed was Cody. He had his back turned as he spoke, though Zack quickly shut his eyes and pretended to still be sleeping as Cody then turned around to face him.

"but it's not."

As Zack strived to give a convincing performance of being asleep, he heard the shuffling sound of Cody's feet as he walked closer to the bed.

"I've actually done this a few times before. Like, every day that you stuck up for me." Cody paused for a moment as he consented to a smile that spread across his lips, "In front of the whole school." He stated in admiration, "I spoke to you a lot that night – and thanked you. I know it might seem like I don't appreciate it, but I am _so_ grateful."

Zack waited for Cody to keep talking, but instead he found himself trying not to jump in shock as Cody dashed to his bedside, sat down in a chair and grabbed his brother's hand.

"Come on, Zack. You gotta wake up. Please say something, even if it's to insult me again." Cody stopped and waited for somewhat of a miracle response from his brother, "I thought I could live without you, but I can't. I've only just realised how much I need you."

As Cody continued to pour his heart out, he soon discovered that he was in the middle of a heated battle with his need to cry. Finally giving in, Cody collapsed his head onto the bed, his hand still in Zack's, and let the tears flow freely, "If you don't wake up… I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Hardly believing all that he was hearing, Zack suddenly squeezed his brother's hand. He watched as Cody's head impulsively shot up at the sensation that the binding pressure had sent up his arm. A beaming smile instantly appeared on Cody's face as he and Zack gawked with wide eyes at one another.

"You are _such_ a girl." Zack spoke mockingly to Cody.

"Zack!"

Cody dove in to give his brother a hug, but was immediately shut down as Zack raised his arms, groaning as he did so. "Hurting." He plainly announced.

Feeling less than wanted, Cody sank back down into his chair. "Sorry." He spoke softly.

Resting his arms back down by his side, Zack attempted to make himself comfortable while he thought of what to say next.

"What happened?" He eventually asked as he realised that everything up until that moment was a blur.

Cody gapped back at his brother with a look of disbelief clearly present on his face, "You mean you don't remember?"

Zack shook his head.

"Zack," Cody began worriedly, "you were hit by a car. It was only doing 20 miles, but one of your ribs shifted. Another one's cracked. You were concussed and you've already been in and out of surgery. Don't you remember anything?"

Taking a second or two to hesitate, something finally did come to Zack's mind, "Now that you mention it, I do remember the headlights coming towards me after I ran from…"

Zack hastily trailed off in what he was saying once he recalled who exactly he had been running from, "…Phil. What happened to Phil?"

Cody recoiled at the fact that Zack knew the man's name. Of course he kind of figured that he would – it just made him feel so indignant that his brother referred to the sick creep so openly.

"He got away." Cody replied disappointedly before he quickly decided to change the subject, "How are you feeling?"

Zack laughed to himself, "Well like you just said, Cody, I've been hit by a car."

Sharply withdrawing at this cynical reply from Zack, Cody sighed deeply to himself and started fidgeting with his shirt, "This is all my fault." He said quietly, "No wonder you hate me."

Hearing this from his brother, Zack's jaw dropped. He hadn't realised it before, but now he was certainly aware of what a lasting impression his final words to Cody had made on him. Zack shook his head slowly with immense frustration in himself, and then opened his mouth to speak again.

"Cody, I – "

"Seriously," Cody cut in, "I don't blame you."

"Cody – "

"And now everyone else will hate me too."

"Cody!" Zack yelled, putting an end to Cody's interruptions and finally grabbing his attention. "I don't hate you."

"Yeah right." Cody immediately retorted.

"Of course I don't!" Zack barked again, desperately trying to right what he had done wrong.

"Then why is it," Cody recommenced accusingly, "that when **he **asked you about the important people in your life you totally blanked out on me?"

Zack came to a complete halt after the question left Cody's lips. He began to hesitate, though he didn't want it to seem like to Cody that he had to think of an answer. He knew what his answer was. The only problem for Zack was that he didn't have the slightest clue how to put it into words.

"Cody, I – "

"Zack?"

Both the boys swiftly spun their heads around at the sound of Carey's voice in the doorway. Standing beside her was Maddie, and the two of them looked just as shocked as each other. Zack smiled at them.

"Hi Mum."

Maddie instantly sobbed in happiness at the sound of Zack's voice, while Carey on the other hand sprinted to where her eldest son sat up and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh, Zack!" She cried, "Oh, thank goodness you're ok!" She pulled away from Zack and gazed at him with her tear stained eyes, "I'm so sorry, baby."

"It's ok, Mum." Zack replied.

Carey burst into tears and began stroking Zack's hair, "No it's not." She spoke through sobs, "We were arguing so much, no wonder you left the hotel. I'm so, so sorry."

Zack tried to hold his emotions together as he and Carey slowly rocked back and forth in their tight hug on his bed. "It's my fault, Mum." He said, "I was stupid and ran off. It's not your fault."

The two eventually parted as Carey kissed the top of Zack's head. The relief that Zack was feeling was indescribable – he couldn't even begin to explain how happy he was to be in the same room as his mum, his brother and Maddie again. He definitely didn't want it to seem like he was showing no gratitude, but ever since Phil had revealed all the stories from his bitter past, there was one person who Zack couldn't get out of his mind.

"Is Dad here?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course I am."

Zack's face lit up with total bliss as his eyes cast onto the image of Kurt walking towards his bed.

"I'm sorry." Kurt instantly spoke, "I was out getting a coffee. I haven't exactly been able to sleep much. I'm so glad you're ok, Zack."

Zack remained silent as he persisted to take in the picture of his dad standing before him. It was exactly like he had said to Phil; Kurt had made mistakes in the past, but he was still his dad.

As his feelings of exhilaration gradually began to take over, Zack choked out a sob and looked up at Kurt, "Dad? Can I have a hug?"

Cody watched from where he stood as Kurt obliged right away and threw his arms around Zack. Maddie was next to the bed now, too, and was just as overwhelmed with emotion as both Carey and Kurt.

Everything looked nicely in place again, Cody thought, and it seemed that nothing could make Zack happier. So, with that in mind, Cody took one final glance at the loving image before him, then slipped out the room without making a single noise and closed the door behind him.

* * *

**Happy he's not dead? I'll bet :) Anyways, I hope yaz liked my new chapter. I'll update again at, like, 55. We'll see how we go. Thanks guys!!**

**Reneyyyyyyyy x.**


	14. Answers

**Hey guys, thank you soooo much to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I actually wasn't expecting to get to 55, so you have no idea how thankful I am. **

**I won't keep yaz waiting anymore, so here's chapter 14. Please don't forget to review. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Cody sat alone in the waiting room of the hospital and stared blankly at the wall opposite him. He'd lost track of the amount of time that had past since he left Zack's room, but it had to have been at least 10 or 15 minutes by now, he thought.

Cody could almost swear that Zack's whole face had lit up when he saw him, but after being witness to how happy his brother had been to see their parents, Cody soon thought twice and decided to leave. He shook his head and directed his vision to the floor. Things had to get better sooner or later, surely.

"Cody?"

Cody instantly shot his head up at the sound of his name. Standing over him was Maddie, who wore a concerned look on her face.

"Zack said he wants to talk to you." She went on straight away, "Alone."

Without uttering a single word, Cody simply stood up and began walking towards his brother's room.

"How are things between you two?" Maddie called out at the last minute.

Turning back around Cody shrugged his shoulders, "Ask me again when I come back out."

Before giving her the chance to respond, Cody turned his back to Maddie and resumed his walk to Zack's room. He saw his parents talking to a doctor just as he reached the end of his journey, so, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed, he quickly slipped past the door and stepped inside the room.

"Three things," Zack immediately spoke without even letting Cody close the door properly, "sit here," he continued, gesturing to the chair beside his bed, "listen to me, and don't talk."

Cody nodded his head in reply and shut the door gently, then, without arguing, did what Zack had asked.

An urge of slight nervousness swept over Cody as he fixed his gaze on Zack. Their last conversation wasn't exactly what Cody hoped would be their first encounter after everything that had happened, and now as Zack sat up in his bed seemingly hesitating, Cody could only wonder what was to come next.

After what seemed like an eternity, Zack finally sorted his thoughts out in his head and licked his lips.

"Cody, Phil… isn't very well. His son's just passed away."

"Well that doesn't give him an excuse for -"

"I said shut up." Zack barked, countering Cody's interruption. He watched as Cody withdrew and sank back into his seat before he slowly opened his mouth to speak again.

"Apart from the fact that I was _extremely_ stupid for walking the streets in the middle of the night, the only reason that Phil took me was because I look like his dead son." Zack paused as he gave Cody time to comprehend what he had said, "Cody, if he knew that I had a twin brother who looks just as much like his son as I do, I was afraid that he was going to come after you too."

Zack beamed as he spied a slow forming smile spread across Cody's face.

"That's why I didn't tell him about you." Zack continued with a grin, "Not because you're not important to me, because I was trying to protect you."

There was a sudden standstill in conversation as Cody let realisation set in. Then, for the first time in a long time, Cody felt genuine happiness as he turned his attention back to his brother and spoke precisely as he was thinking, "You don't hate me."

"Of course I don't." Zack said in reassurance, "And none of this is your fault either."

Just as quickly as Cody's bliss had appeared, he felt it disperse as a sharp feeling of guilt over took his happiness.

"Yes it is." He said, "Everything. It's just like you said - all I had to do was catch the ball."

"No, it's not like that at all, Cody." Zack encouraged, desperately trying to get his comfort across, "Mum told me that it was your test for our DNA that led the police to Phil. If anything, you helped save me."

"No, don't say that." Cody instantly retorted.

"Why not?" Zack asked, confused, "You're the reason I'm here and ok now."

With his eyes clapped shut, Cody shook his head as he found himself in another vicious battle, this time with his conscience. He knew that something about that initial night didn't feel right, but yet he did nothing to help. Even in the later hours of the whole occurrence, Cody shut himself out from the world and refused to lend a hand in the search for his brother. As far as he was concerned, Cody did nothing to help, and ultimately, didn't deserve Zack back.

"Because," Cody finally snapped, "I didn't care that you were gone, ok?!"

An eerie silence abruptly suffocated all the air in the room, as both boys sat in stillness and let this last comment linger throughout the small space.

Cody sat stiffly with his teeth clamped hard down on his tongue, hardly believing the sentence that had just left his mouth.

"You… what?" Zack eventually said, daring to break the quiet.

Cody sighed and collapsed his head in his hands, but near enough immediately elevated it back up, feeling that Zack deserved an indisputable looking explanation.

"I was happy that you were gone - at first." He swiftly reiterated, "I wasn't doing anything to help. But I was really, really wrong."

Seeming unmoved, Zack exchanged his empty glare from the streaky window of his room and redirected it back at Cody, "Well why would you even think like that in the first place?"

"Because of everything we said to each other." Cody answered instantly and in confidence, "All the yelling and the arguing - I just thought you'd be happier without me."

There came another halt as Cody unhappily relived the many moments in the past two or so days in which his worst thought had crossed his mind.

"And that you hated me."

Zack's face suddenly softened as he caught a glimpse of the expressionless look that lay across Cody's.

There was certainly no doubt that Cody had been wrong with the way he was thinking and feeling towards his brother, but after hearing him out, it seemed to occur to Zack that at the end of the day it might've been what he said to Cody that primarily caused him to live through such a twist of emotions.

"I understand if you're angry with me, Zack." Cody said, snapping Zack from his trance, "But please don't be upset. I'm so sorry."

Zack nodded his head and slowly allowed his new thoughts to over take the initial irritation that he had felt towards Cody's revelation.

"Me too."

Shooting Zack a confused glance without delay, Cody remained mute until he finally found his voice box and was able to speak, "What?"

"It's not your fault that you were feeling like that," Zack said, "it was mine. Neither of us really handled this whole thing in the best way, did we?"

Cody shook his head in response, "So, we're ok?"

"Dude," Zack started in reply, laughing, "how can I stay mad at you when you told me the truth like that? That takes guts."

Cody countered the laughter as Zack's words echoed through his mind.

Guts. That was the one thing that Cody had been sincerely lacking in the last few fearful hours of Zack's kidnapping. He remembered how helpless he had felt once the discovery was made that Phil had escaped with Zack. The screeching stop that Cody's heart had come to was like a bullet through his head, and it only worsened as soon as he heard the frightening commotion down the phone the previous night when Phil had called the Martin's suite.

Cody impulsively discontinued his memories as he realised that fresh tears were gracing his eyes.

"I was terrified."

Zack glanced up at the sound of Cody's whisper and noticed a single tear roll down the side of his cheek.

"When I found out that he had left and taken you with him, I was so scared."

Zack felt his heart rip at the seams as Cody began crying at a faster and steadier pace.

"_You_ were scared?" Zack asked, fighting to hold back his own emotions, "_I_ was the one being held captive by a sadistic psycho - one wrong slip of the tongue costing me my life or the most important thing in my world."

Wiping his tears away, only to have them be replaced with new ones, Cody dwelled on Zack's latest announcement and tried to decipher what he meant.

Eventually giving in, Cody raised an eyebrow, "What's more important than your life?"

Zack smiled at the naïve question that came from his brother. Cody was definitely a little slow at catching on, which was strange as that role was usually filled by Zack, but that and many other of Cody's little quirks were the precise reason behind the fact that Zack knew exactly what to say.

"Yours."

Cody choked out a sob after Zack's remarkable confession, despite the immense happiness that had exploded inside him, and beamed at his brother as Zack stretched his arms out towards him.

"Ah, to hell with the pain," Zack said, "come here bro."

Without a second of thought, Cody threw himself into Zack's arms and burst into more tears on his shoulder. After the long 48 hours without Zack, and the extreme worry that something unspeakable had happened to him, Cody finally found himself - and his thoughts - at ease with Zack safe in his grip.

"I can't go through that again, Zack." Cody barely spoke, "I can't lose you."

The seams that had previously unstitched Zack's heart dissipated into nothing as Cody's words sliced through his brain.

"You won't," he urged as he tightened the grasp he had around his little brother, "you won't."

"I love you." Cody instantly responded, just as Zack lost the fight with a lone tear that escaped his eyes.

"I love you too." He assured Cody, "More than anyone. You know I do."

After what was more than enough time, though the twins may not have thought so, they reluctantly parted. While Cody dropped his arms back to his side, Zack kept his hands firmly glued to his brother's shoulders and then stared him directly in the eye. He smiled, but then quickly swapped his expression for one of total sincerity.

"I promise I'll never say I hate you again."

Cody sighed in relief as he felt a giant weight lift from his shoulders. What Phil had done definitely hadn't been an easy encounter to overcome, and as much as Cody was certain that Zack was feeling completely exhausted too, he was just happy and content to finally have the old Zack back. And the promise that came with him was a great added bonus.

Before another word could be spoken between them, Zack and Cody both focused their attention to the door as it slowly creaked open. They hastily wiped their eyes as Carey and Zack's doctor then entered the room.

"Hi Zack, I'm doctor Ennis," the middle-aged looking man announced upon entering the room, "how are you feeling?"

Zack shot a gaze at Cody, who had now taken a few steps away from the bed, then shrugged his shoulders. He knew that it was just routine, but after being in and out of surgery, that was possibly the most ridiculous question he had ever heard.

"Ok, I guess."

"Alright, well your surgery results have just come back," Ennis recommenced, "so right now, you, your mum and I are going to go and check out them and your x-rays just to make sure you don't need any additional surgery."

Accompanying the doctor and his disclosure of what was to come next was a nurse, who then entered the room with a wheel chair, which suddenly increased Zack's apprehension.

"Additional surgery?" He asked worriedly.

"Oh, don't worry, baby," Carey spoke supportively, "it's nothing to panic about."

"Your mum's right, Zack," doctor Ennis started as he helped Zack sit up on the edge of the bed, "Honestly, judging by what I've already seen, you should be alright for school on Monday. You might be a little sore, but you've got the whole weekend to rest up."

"I thought by rib was cracked, though?" Zack asked in confusion.

"It is, but not completely in half." Ennis explained, "Trust me, you'd be in a lot more pain if that were the case. No, your injury only reaches about a quarter of the way through your bone marrow – it'll heal of its own accord in no time. We only need to check your results to make sure we haven't missed anything."

Zack nodded his head. It wasn't like him to let his angst get the better of him, but the thought of going back under the knife scared him to no ends.

"So are you ready now?"

Zack gawked back up at Ennis once his train of thought had been derailed, "Can Cody come?" He asked hopefully.

Ennis frowned then flashed a sympathetic smile, "Sorry, I'm afraid not. Only parents or caregivers."

The disappointment in Zack's eyes was extremely evident, before his vision was then hidden from everyone and directed at the floor. Sure, he may have come this far without Cody by his side, but Zack wasn't definite how much longer he could keep it up. It was then that he felt the warm sense of another hand on his. Impulsively looking up, he found himself on the receiving end of a comforting smile from Cody.

"Hey," Cody began, "you'll be ok. You've been through worse than this."

Zack returned the smile that Cody was shooting at him in total console.

"And I'll be right in the next room waiting for you when you come back, ok?"

Completely forgetting about the tormenting feelings that had moments ago been eating him up inside, Zack nodded his head assertively then turned back to face his mum and doctor.

"Alright." He said, "I'm ready now."

Ennis then helped Zack off the side of the bed and into the wheel chair, as did Cody, who didn't loosen the grip he held to his brother's hand.

"We'll be right back, sweetie." Carey said to Cody, kissing the top of his head.

Everyone then walked – and rolled – out into the corridor, and while Cody headed back towards the waiting room, Zack, Carey and Ennis all started in the opposite direction on their way to the x-ray room.

As the wheels of the chair squeaked alone the shrill, tiled floor, Zack and Cody held a devoted glance with one another and did not break it until Zack was around the corner and out of sight.

* * *

**There we go, another one down. I got alot of reviews in the last chapter of people worrying about the fact that Cody had left and Phil had got away - sorry it was so anti-climatic, but trust me, there is a reason I made Phil get away.**

**Anyways, please don't forget to review. There's only one more chapter to go, and I'll update when we reach 60 reviews. Please and thank you - you guys are awesome :)**

**Reneyyyyy x.**


	15. A Promise Is A Promise

**Here it is, last chapter. I won't keep you guys waiting, I just wanted to say that throughout the whole story the only things that I ever owned were the plot line, Phil and the other cops. 'Fix You' is Coldplay's and everything else belongs to the all mighty Disney corporation, yadda, yadda, yadda, ON WITH THE ENDING!**

* * *

"Zack, wait up!"

Cody groaned as Zack, once again, refused to respond to the sound of his brother's voice ricocheting up the main street of Boston.

The last thing Cody wanted was for Zack to be a block ahead of him on their walk home due to an argument, but looking back on the way that their first returning day at school together had panned out, it still seemed to Cody that the worst of their heated discussions were yet to come…

_Bursting through the cafeteria doors after his elective, Cody's eyes darted around hastily for Zack. A content look then spread across his face as he finally spotted his brother, tray in hand, collecting some food. No surprise really._

"_Hey Zack."_

_Looking up upon Cody's approach, Zack smiled, "Hey man."_

"_How are you feeling?" Cody immediately asked, causing Zack to roll his eyes and sigh._

"_Is that the fifth or five-hundredth time you've asked me that today?"_

"_Just say you're ok." Cody said in a slight tone of anxiety._

_Zack rested a hand on Cody's shoulder, then spoke reassuringly, "I'm fine."_

_Cody returned the smile to his brother as he felt the majority of his angst disperse._

_Fortunately for Zack, he didn't require any extra surgery for any of his injuries. Unfortunately, however, besides the fact that he had to go back to school pretty much straight away, there were a few choice people who weren't exactly willing to give him the homecoming he deserved. People like Drew._

"_Well, look who's back." Zack and Cody both spun around to find Drew pushing past people in the lunch line, "Zack Martin."_

_Zack sensed Cody tense up where he stood beside him. He, on the other hand, simply groaned and remained calm. Zack had never really been that scared of Drew before, but especially now after everything that he had been through, the bully merely seemed about a million times more pathetic._

"_What do you want, Drew?"_

"_I just wanted to welcome you back." He spoke in reply to Zack, "And tell you that while you were gone I looked after little Cody-Wody perfectly for you. Fed him all his meals, changed his diapers. Everything."_

_A few sniggers were heard throughout the cafeteria at the sound of Drew's sarcastic taunting of the twins. Zack felt his fist clench in the depths of his pocket as he caught a subtle glance of the embarrassment that lay across Cody's face._

"_Ha, that was pretty good, Drew. I know how much you love your jokes." Zack said, remaining eerily calm, "But what do you think of this one of mine?"_

_Everyone watched in silence and shock as Drew found himself covered in spaghetti courtesy of Zack dumping his bowl on the bully's head. There was an immense group gasp that filled the whole room as everyone waited for Drew's reaction._

_Eventually, he emitted an aggravated sigh and shot his enraged glare at Zack, "You __**did not **__just do that!"_

_Then before another word could be spoken, Drew pulled back his balled fist and went to take a sharp swing at Zack's jaw. Cody felt his heart stop as he impulsively leapt into defensive brother mode._

"_Don't you __**dare**__ touch my brother!"_

_Reeling from his unexpected inclusion in the dispute, Drew stumbled back as Cody pushed him away from Zack. Hysterical laughter exploded from each of the kids who were then witness to Drew falling backwards over a chair. Sadly for the twins, though, who were also caught in fits of laughter, there was one person who had entered the room that didn't particularly see the funny side of things._

"_Zack and Cody Martin!"_

_All the laughter came to an abrupt cease as __Principal Miletitch made her entrance into the cafeteria extremely obvious._

"_My office! Now!"_

_Zack scoffed, "You can't be serious." He spat, "We were just defending ourselves!"_

_Bringing her voice back down to a hushed tone as she realised that all ears in the cafeteria were still perked up and paying attention, Principal Miletitch took a couple of seconds to calm down then walked closer to the twins._

_Directing her awareness to Zack, she opened her mouth to speak again, "Look, Zack," the principal started quietly, "I know this can't be easy after everything you've been through, and things may seem a bit intimidating -"_

"_Intimidating?!" Zack suddenly snapped. Cody jerked his head up at the sound of anger that had blasted from his brother._

_If there was one word that Zack could define after the hell that he had lived through, 'intimidation' was certainly one, and Drew did not fit the bill._

"_I'll tell you what's intimidating," Zack recommenced, the annoyance coating his voice, "intimidating is being kidnapped and held prisoner by some crazy psycho. Intimidating is escaping from said psycho's car only to be hit by another one thirty seconds later. Intimidating is being threatened with a gun in your face!"_

_As soon as the last sentence left Zack's mouth, his eyes widened in sync with a devastated gasp from Cody. He instantly peered over his shoulder to see a look of immeasurable distraught in place of where Cody's smile was no more than two minutes ago._

_Amongst the awkward silence that had taken over the whole room, Zack rapidly attained the urge to kick himself as hard as he possibly could. Not wanting to worry Cody or Carey about what Phil had done to him, he hadn't yet opened up to them about anything, but now Cody had learnt about the gun, which apparently tore him up inside._

"_Aw man." Zack mused as he dropped an arm over Cody's shoulder. "Come on, buddy, it's ok."_

_While the uncomfortable stillness slowly began to revert back to teenage gossip and whispers throughout the room, Zack lead Cody past all the tables and chairs and headed on their way to Principal Miletitch's office._

"_It's ok."…_

Cody shook his head as his memories from earlier gradually faded.

Shortly after that last moment, Cody had demanded that Zack fill him in on everything that happened, starting with the gun. When Zack refused to go into any detail whatsoever that was pretty much when the arguments started.

Focusing his attention back to his brother, Cody rolled his eyes, "Come on, Zack!"

Just as Cody felt he was about to break into a sprint to try and catch up to Zack, he was interrupted by the easing arrival of a car pulling up next to him.

The navy blue Ford had black tinted windows and a long antenna projecting from the boot. While Cody was just beginning to wonder who it was inside, the window started to roll down little by little.

"Hi Cody."

Cody smiled in surprise, "Hey Shannon."

"How are you doing?" She asked, returning the smile, only to see Cody's expression drop.

"Honestly?" He inquired.

"Uh oh." Shannon responded, "What happened?"

As much as Cody may have disliked Shannon at first, it was since then that they both had their own opportunities to open up about their siblings and even learn a few things off one another, because after all, she had just been trying to do her job. But aside from all that, Cody definitely didn't want to let go of the chance to see her take on the situation either.

"It was nothing really. This jerk at school was trying to -" Cody paused as he came across a way to conclude his sentence, "_intimidate _Zack. But then Zack got really angry and started yelling about stuff from when he was… you know."

That was where Cody's recount came to a halt, but reading his expression, Shannon had a feeling that there was still more to come, "Is that everything?"

Cody hesitated, "He said something about a…"

As Cody trailed off, Shannon indecisively bit her lip and then opted to finish his sentence, "A gun?"

Cody shot her a stare of shock and confusion, "You know about that?"

"Sorry Cody." Shannon spoke with a soft smile, "Zack told Tray and I everything. We're not exactly allowed to go parading it around or anything like that, though. Confidentiality and all that."

Cody folded his arms across his chest in a slump, "Well now Zack's mad at me because I keep asking him questions about what happened."

"Cody, Zack might not want to put you and your family through anything else right now." Shannon explained, taking her hands away from the steering wheel, "I'm sure he'll talk to you when he's ready."

"He seemed ready enough to yell it in front of the whole school."

Shannon sighed at Cody's retort, "Look, Cody, I wish I could stay and chat some more, but I really gotta go."

Cody unfolded his arms and let them hang by his side as he watched Shannon restart the car's engine and release the hand brake, "Another big case?" He asked curiously.

"Nah, I've taken some leave." Shannon replied, "I'm flying out to Colorado to stay with my parents for a few days." There was another standstill in the conversation before Shannon added boldly, "I'm going to see my sister."

Creating a bit of an awkward pause, Cody gazed down at his shoes as the conversation he had had with Shannon about Zack and Roxy rebuilt in his mind, and it wasn't long before he was also reminded of many other intense memories from that same night which he would much rather forget.

"Cody, you got your second chance, I didn't." Shannon said, snapping Cody back into reality, "Don't blow it."

Remaining frozen for a few seconds, Cody eventually nodded his head at Shannon's advice. All the way through the entire experience, Cody had to keep reminding himself that what he had lived through was only a insignificant fraction of the pain that Shannon felt without her sister every day. He wasn't going to let that happen to him and Zack.

"Thanks Shannon."

"Any time kiddo." She replied, "I'll tell Tray you said hi?"

Nodding his head eagerly, Shannon smiled for a final time before flicking her right blinker on, "Take care."

As the window flew back up and the wheels turned away from the curb, Cody watched Shannon's car roll up the street, around the corner and out of sight. The grin that had appeared on his face during their conversation quickly dropped, however, as Cody then remembered what he had been doing prior to her arrival. He twisted back on his heels and peered up the street, though much like Shannon's car, Zack was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he too was capable of a speedy departure.

_----_

Walking into the suite, Cody immediately came face to face with Zack, who still didn't seem all that willing to talk to him.

"Don't even bother." He snapped as Cody closed the door.

Luckily for them, Cody thought, Carey was in rehearsal. As was Kurt, who had insisted to rent a room in the hotel and stick around until Zack was feeling one hundred percent better. He was making a living by singing duets with Carey in her shows, and was spending a lot more time with the twins, which definitely suited them both just fine. Unluckily, however, the boys still weren't exactly on the same page as one another.

"Why won't you just talk to me?" Cody pleaded.

"Cause I don't want to." Zack answered simply.

Cody rolled his eyes at his brother's stubbornness, "Oh, but you'll talk to Tray and Shannon." He retorted.

Zack shot his vision up from the television screen and gave his brother a look a stupidity, "I'm not sure if you've noticed Cody," he began, "but Tray and Shannon are cops. It's their job, even if Phil did get away, they still need to have it on record and make sure that I don't need some kind of post traumatic counselling - or whatever."

Cody's attention remained directed at the floor as Zack spoke. No matter how lame an excuse Zack was able to come up with, the part that was hurting Cody the most was the fact that his brother refused to let him in.

"Just tell me what happened." Cody attempted again, sounding stern and on the verge of frustration.

Letting out a huge sigh and finally giving into the aggravation that had built up in the pit of his stomach, Zack turned off the TV and stood up off the couch.

"Cody, seriously, stop." Zack paused as he swallowed back the majority of the anger he was tempted to let loose, "You have no idea how much I strongly dislike you right now."

Being that it wasn't the particular line he was expecting, Cody shifted his weight from one foot to the other and gazed at Zack in confusion, studying him up and down and trying to read his expression.

"Strongly dislike?" He eventually conceded.

Pausing again, Zack froze and considered whether or not to explain himself. Deciding against the option, he brushed off the thought and gradually turned on his heels, headed towards his bedroom door, "Just drop it."

With that said Cody was then left alone in the lounge room of the suite, the scenario that had just played out revolving through his mind over and over again.

Not only was it unlike Zack to keep his cool in a confrontation, but after delivering an insult like 'strongly dislike' and then being the one to abandon all conflict, Cody presumed that there was something about the conversation that needed to be decrypted. And then, as a smile slowly appeared across Cody's face, he figured it out.

_----_

After about half an hour, Cody stood nervously in front of his bedroom door holding two glasses of orange juice - one with pulp for Zack and one without for himself. It may have been a pretty lame peace offering, but Cody was willing to try just about anything to get back on the same side as his brother.

Upon entering the room, Cody found Zack sprawled out on his bed playing video games. He glanced up from the screen for a split second and gazed at Cody, but quickly shifted his attention back to where it was needed.

Cody set Zack's glass down on the side.

"Thanks." Zack spoke, hardly putting any strain on his voice box.

Without replying, Cody stood beside Zack's bed in silence and waited to see if any other dialogue would come. When it didn't, Cody reluctantly turned around and began walking back towards the bedroom door.

"And thanks for doing what you did to Drew at school today."

Cody smiled at the sound of Zack's voice from behind him. He swivelled back around on the spot to see that Zack had now paused his game.

"Thank _you_ for sticking up for me. Again." Cody replied, "No matter who's picking on me, I can always count on you."

Listening to his brother's words of gratitude, Zack felt a sudden twinge of guilt flick on inside him, "Cody, I don't want to be pissed off at you after everything we've been through."

"Don't worry." Cody said as he placed his drink down and sat on the end of Zack's bed, "I know you're not _that_ mad at me."

Zack's brow wrinkled, "Come again?"

Cody hesitated for a moment and recalled on his memories of what Zack had said to him earlier in the suite.

"Whenever you get angry," Cody started, "you go on a total rampage. You don't care what you say or who you say it to."

Cody found himself stopping for an instant as he tried to hold back a laugh at the fact that Zack was nodding his head in agreement and not protesting to the statement.

Regathering his thoughts, Cody continued, "Strongly dislike?" He asked in disbelief, "If you were really pissed off you would've broken that promise you made to me at the hospital."

"Hey, promises that are meant to be broken are ones like 'yes Mum, I'll be home by ten'." Zack spoke, "Not ones you make to your twin brother."

From where his eyesight sat glued to the bed spread, Cody beamed to himself. Zack had promised never to tell his brother that he hated him ever again, and him keeping that promise meant the absolute world to Cody.

As the twins both fell into quiet, Cody contemplated what to say next, or to be more precise, how he was going to ask Zack what happened again.

"Zack," He commenced, deciding to get straight to the point, "what happened?"

Dropping his jaw in staggering amazement at Cody's persistence, Zack groaned and went back to his video game.

"I just want you to talk to me so we can have some sense of getting back on track." Cody said, urgently trying to make Zack stop ignoring him. He sighed, "You can talk to me more than anyone else in the entire world."

"I know that." Zack replied through gritted teeth, taking his anger out on a space ship on his video game.

Cody sighed again as he watched the last remnants of the space ship blow up on the screen. He couldn't believe that Zack was more interested in playing his Xbox than working stuff out with him, nor could he comprehend it.

"Ya know," he began, clearly starting to sound upset, "I thought I was never going to see or talk to you ever again, Zack."

Re-pausing his game in a slight outburst of frustration, Zack snapped his head around and glared at Cody, "Don't you think I felt that too? Look at yourself, Cody, you're getting upset!"

Taken back to some extent by the heated tone that caked Zack's voice, Cody sank into a slump where he sat on the bed and fought back the yearning to show any more distress.

"I get that you want me to leave you alone." Cody spoke, his voice cracking, "But we both know I'm not strong enough to do that."

Instantly feeling most of his anger fade, Zack looked at the emotional heap that Cody had collected himself in, again, and slowly began to shake his head.

"Not strong enough?" Zack echoed in doubt, "Cody, you've lived through what most other kids our age can't even imagine. You _are_ strong enough, to do anything, even if you don't realise it yet."

Cody gazed up at his brother with tears staining his eyes and shot him a look as to second guess Zack's theory.

"I just don't want to say anything that's going to upset you." Zack said.

"Well I don't want to go the rest of my life wondering what happened to my brother."

Zack's expression dropped at the conflicting response that came from Cody. It had certainly become obvious to Zack that Cody wasn't going to give up until he knew the full story, and it probably wasn't helping his imagination that much considering he knew that a gun was involved. But what had happened to Zack had scared the living hell out of him – one could only visualise how Cody would deal with being told every single last little detail.

"Please Zack." Cody begged.

Zack studied the persona that currently had its grip on his brother. Cody definitely looked composed and undoubtedly ready to hear anything, but Zack remained unsure. He was supposed to protect Cody from all the evil things of the world – not open up the door and let them in to see him. But in saying that, it had been Zack who told Cody that he was strong enough for anything.

As all these words of hesitation, and more, circled Zack's head, he reluctantly threw his pillow to the ground from where he sat rested against his bed head and patted the empty spot next to him.

"Ok," he said, "where should I start?"

An immense smile stretched across Cody's face as he bounded across the bed and propped himself against the head of the bed next to Zack.

"The beginning might be a good place."

Zack barked out a small laugh at the cynical smile that Cody was directing at him.

The two had without a doubt come a long way in the past week or so, to say the least, and not only was it proven that nothing could tear apart the bond that the boys shared, but with their arguments, pranks, and Phil far behind them now, the only way from here was straight up.

Zack beamed lovingly at Cody and nudged him in the arm,

"Smart arse."

* * *

**Yay, that's it. DONE. Kinda sad though :/ I was enjoying writing that one. Did ya like it?!**

**Thank you so, so, so, so, SO much to everyone who reviewed. My highest amount of reviews before this story was, like, 24 or something, so this means so much to me :) **

**I am thinking sequel, if anyone's interested that is, but I do have another Z&C idea that I'm thinking of going with first. I'll see how I feel.**

**So, anyway, thanks again guys. Everyone who ever reviewed this story is a total and utter LEGEND xD**

**Reneyyyyyyyyy x.**


End file.
